Jiraiya's Choice
by Edaar the Mage
Summary: Knowing the pain and suffering he would grow up with Jiraiya takes Naruto in and raises him. Upon his return to Konoha he falls for Hinata finally understanding her affections. But by traveling with Jiraiya may have brought him too much attention...
1. Four Men and a Baby

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

This is my first attempt at a Naruto fan fiction and just an introductory chapter, please review and give constructive criticism please!!!

**Jiraiya's Choice Chapter 1**

The village of Konohagakure was silent, not the quiet of early morning as would be normal, but the quiet of an entire people in mourning. The nine-tail demon had finally been defeated and with him many lives had been lost but also their beloved fourth hokage. The people mourned their dead and comforted their friends and family at their loss, but within the Hokage tower a single light could be seen from the office of the Hokage.

A scattering of candles lit the room which contained four men of various ages. The third Hokage stood looked out at the village from the window. The three ninja behind him were the only ones privy to this meeting, Hiashi Hyuuga, the leader of the Hyuuga clan and Minato's former teammate, rival, and best friend, Kakashi Hatake, his former pupil, and his sensei Jiraiya. On the table before them was a small child, an infant newly born, and just as newly orphaned.

The room held a somber mood within it, as if the four walls, even the tour, felt unprepared and unable to bear the burden of the decision before the four men. Each was bore the grief in their heart and the weight of their responsibility on their shoulders. Sarutobi Hiruzen, known as the Professor by the world and Konoha's third Hokage looked at the village beneath the tower, smoke gliding softly from his pipe. He breathed deeply, his thoughts jumbled with his emotions, each vying for control as the weight of the decision of the fourth Hokage and his sacrifice fully hit him.

"Minato has sealed the demon in the body of his son, he has sacrificed himself for this village." The others nodded, they already knew what had been done, Lord Hiruzen had attempted to present the child as hero to the village only to be met with the angry cries of grief by the villagers. "The village has already called for his death, they are swayed by their anger at the _Kyūbi no Yōko _and it has caused them and they would see an innocent child bear the burden of their grief."

The anger and remorse held in Hiashi's eyes told of his grief, many of his clan had perished in the battle with the nine-tailed demon and their deaths weighed heavily upon his shoulders. Though he had been Minato's friend and rival he secretly agreed with the villagers, the child before him could be the greatest threat the village ever faced and he spoke quietly before responding to Lord Hiruzen, "Are we so sure they aren't correct Lord Hiruzen?"

His question made the other three look at Hiashi with more than a bit of surprise, "You would see a young child punished and killed because of something out of his control on the very day of his birth? He is Minato's son, I know you two were rivals but I would have thought you'd at least give his son the chance at life." The third hokage understood Hiashi's feelings, the weight of the deaths on his shoulders and the grief he must be dealing with.

"Minato was too optimistic, he thought the village would accept his son as a hero for carrying the Kyubi no Yoko within him, but then, that's one of the things which made him Minato. The decision we have before us is simple, what is to be done with the child? I will not see him harmed, I ask you three because you were the closest to Minato, his student, his best friend, and his master, what do you believe should come of his son?"

The three men stood, they avoided the gaze of the quiet child before him, the swirling sealing mark over his belly, the azure blue eyes which cut their very souls with its purity. Hiashi shook his head and spoke first, his feelings already made clear, "If you will not see him harmed, then let him loose, he is a danger to everyone and if he will not be killed them see him kept caged or sealed somewhere, he is a child now but one day he will grow up and should the demon ever escape it will finish what it started. This child's life for the safety of the village, we must accept that while the child is innocent, Minato made a mistake and his mistake could cost the village its entire existence, we must take precautions and see to it that it cannot happen."

Hiashi's eyes blazed with the fire of his beliefs, he truly could not believe his old friend would place such a demon within his own child. _Minato,_ he thought, _how could you do this to your son? Will you force me to kill the only remaining part of you Konoha has left?_ Kakashi was next to speak, "Lord Third, while I do not disagree that the child could be a danger one day, he has done nothing wrong and maybe we should wait, let him grow, if the gears of lord Hiashi and the village look to become valid we can always take the precautions then."

Jiraiya crossed his arms, he closed his eyes and sighed refraining from speaking. He was still unsure how he felt, he had just come home to do some more "research" and visit with his former pupil and congratulate him on his new position when this had happened. The silence stretched on and with each passing moment Hiashi grew to believe more and more he was right in his belief the child would need to be destroyed one day. But it was not he, nor was it the third hokage who spoke, it was Kakashi with his arms behind his head and, if it was possible, looking rather apprehensive, "Minato spoke with me before he left to seal the demon. He asked me to take his son in and care for him, see him grow and trained. I'm sorry lord third, but I simply cannot do that. It's not like I don't like Minato's kid, seems nice enough, but really, I'm too young and it would alert every enemy in the 5 great nations whose child it had to be if I took him in." _That and I can't stand changing diapers!_ Kakashi thought to himself.

The third hokage took another puff on his pipe, its smoke gliding before him to obscure the view of the village. He knew that Hiashi would never take the child and Kakashi had already made his reasons, which had weight, for not taking the child. He certainly couldn't take the child for the same reason and more, his responsibilities would keep him much too busy and he was much too old to care for such an infant. The third hokage turned around and looked at his former pupil Jiraiya standing there with his arms crossed, his eyes closed.

As if sensing his former teacher was looking at him Jiraiya opened his eyes and took a hesitant step backward bringing his arms up. "Hey! Don't look at me Professor! I won't be staying in Konoha more than a day or two after this. Besides, I travel too much and he would be a big drag on my time doing "research" after all!" The third hokage raised an eyebrow at his student who, in his attempt to avoid his masters gaze looked down at the child and realization began to hit him.

Jiraiya saw the child's future before him, the taunts by others, how he would be ostracized by the village, the jeers at him and how his life would be lonely and devoid of happiness save for what he made for himself. _If I don't take him in my students son his life will be as no life at all_." Jiraiya sighed to the men around him. His teacher had turned his back to them again to look out the window when he heard his pupil sigh, "But then again, it does get rather lonely on the road and I guess the kid couldn't be too much trouble as long as he gets a place here so I can go on my own from time to time."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and even Hiashi was more than a bit surprised as the statement by the Sannin. Kakashi wasn't entirely sure that anyone was comfortable with what the old ninja might teacher the child, but he admitted, at least the child would be protected and have a chance to learn from the same man who had helped teach Minato. The third hokage turned around, a bit of concern tugged at his senses, he wasn't entire sure that Jiraiya would be the best person knowing of his students more, perverse, nature. But he nodded at the same.

Jiraiya picked up the young Naruto holding him awkwardly, "Well boy, guess we're going to be spending some time together. First rule: When the girls come around, act cute so I get more "research" done, got it?" All three other men fell down and groaned wondering what would become of the child they had entrusted to the old toad sage. The child in Jiraiya's arms looked quizzically at the old man and gave a miniscule sigh of his own, unnoticed by any but the third hokage who gave a slight smile.

**The following morning**

The sun was shining on Konoha, the village was busy with repairs from the damage caused by the demon attack and the burials were being scheduled. There was, however, an atmosphere of cautious optimism amongst the people. They had won a great victory at a terrible cost, and while it would be debated later and for many years if the cost of the victory had been worth the sacrifice by the village for now, they knew they were safe and at peace.

At the northern exist to the village Jiraiya walked past many waving good-bye. Strapped to his back was his the toad contract and next to it lay little Naruto. As Jiraiya walked out of the north gate leaving Konoha behind the eyes of the third hokage looked upon watching. He knew Naruto would have a hard time, Jiraiya was many things but his parenting skills would leave much to be desired. As the smoke drifted from his pipe the third hokage smiled as he sensed the duo leave. Yes, Naruto would be in good hands and well protected, and long as Jiraiya was away there would be a chance for the village to heal without the constant reminder in their midst of the demons attack.

As Jiraiya left the village he noticed Kakashi and waved to him to come over. "Kakashi, I have something for you, it's a gift, my first novel! I have no doubt you'll love it! One day I will be a famous author and change the world with me books!" Kakashi gave Jiraiya a quizzical look but took the book from the older ninja. Jiraiya laughed and wished the younger ninja good-bye as he proceeded on his way. He noticed quickly that Naruto seemed enthralled by the large scroll next to him on his back and kept attempting to grab it was it swing back and forth. Jiraiya chuckled, _You'll learn of the toads soon enough Naruto, after all, there is no better babysitter!_.


	2. Naruto meets the world

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters within nor am I making money from this Fan Fiction.

Thank you all for the reviews so far and please keep them coming! I know this chapter has a lot of flashbacks in it, I decided to try several flashbacks for the important events in Naruto's early life rather than constantly jumping forward in time, let me know how you like and if you think it would be better a different way! Enjoy!

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**A few months later**

Jiraiya wasn't sure what possessed him to take this kid in but he was currently regretting it with every fiber of his being! The child cried, pooped, cried, snored, and cried without remorse! Nothing Jiraiya did seemed to get him to stop and it was always at the worst time. He grimaced wondering if he could exchange the boy for maybe a death match with Orochimaru.

He sighed as he looked down at the child in his arms, it was almost 3 in the morning and he hadn't had a good nights sleep in what felt like weeks. They had traveled for several months, Naruto had been so quiet in the woods and on the roads, the trees and insects and nature seemed to amuse him and keep him occupied. They had reached the border to the earth country and he thought it was time to conduct a bit of "research"!

"Everything had started out so perfectly too! All those pretty girls and they were all so interested in me!" He was almost to tears when he noticed all the potential "research assistants" in the small town.

Of course, that lasted all of maybe twenty minutes. It was as if once Naruto realized they would be staying for a while he wanted it well known he did not like it inside this town and had started to cry. At first it had worked to Jiraiya's advantage as all the girls had come over to talk to him.

**Flashback**

"Oh he is sooooo cute!" A high pitched voice squealed. "Is he your grandson?" "Oooo, look at his cute cheeks!" "You must be so proud, and handsome too!" The girls giggled and cooed over the child as his guardian grinned to himself.

"Well, that's how I've always felt about him, he is my pride and joy, sadly his parents were lost in a tragic accident." As the girls bent over to look at the small child in Jiraiya's arms their more than amble bosom's were laid open for the older man to see and his face reddened and caused him to smile. _Naruto, you are a treasure, keep it up my boy!_ He chuckled to himself.

Naruto seemed to have a sixth sense about his guardian though and immediately began to cry even louder. The girls grimaced at the screaming child and quickly lost interest when their attempts to quiet him failed utterly leaving Jiraiya alone with the screaming baby.

**End Flashback**

Jiraiya sighed again, ever since he had been stuck in the hotel trying to find a way to quiet the little one. As he rocked the baby back and forth he spied the Toad contract in the corner. And a brilliant idea struck his sly mind, brilliant, and dangerous. Jiraiya placed the little Naruto down on the bed and walked to the scroll. Opening and releasing the scroll he unwound it until he reached the right spot, biting his thumb he pressed his hand on the contract.

There was a puff of smoke in response and two small toads lay before him. One was wearing a small night cap with a short white beard and snoring very loudly. The other was wearing a bonnet and had a small nightgown on. Naruto continued to scream in the background, the toads were not asleep for much longer as the noise continued.

"Ma! The kids awake again" The one with a beard said without opening his eyes.

"It's your turn to see to the kiddies Pa" The other responded sleepily.

A moment passed as the two suddenly sprang up and looked at each other, "WHAT KIDDIES?!"

An argument immediately erupted between the two as to which one had had another child, "how could you have gone and gotten pregnant again me Ma!" Pa cried, "what had she been thinking!" Ma immediately countered with how she had seen those "young biddies" eyeing Pa and knew he wanted them and started crying about how she had given him the "best years of my life!" After a few moment Jiraiya's chuckles caught the attention of the two old frogs who then turned, for the first time realizing they were no longer in their own home.

Pa was the first to recover, "Jiraiya-boy, what do ya think yer doing summonin us like that? Whats the gods awful racket?!"

Jiraiya was about to point to little Naruto on the bed when he realized the child had crawled toward him… and the edge of the bed. Just as Naruto began to fall Ma sprang forward to catch him. "Jiraiya! I would have thought you'd have better sense than to get one those "research assistants" pregnant! Where is the hussy?! She should be taking care of her child!"

"Aye boy, whats happened and since when do ye have a child?" Pa asked.

Jiraiya placed his hands in front of him, noticing that the three could actually speak in the same room at a normal tone as Naruto quieted down for Ma as she rocked him back and forth humming. "That's the first time he's been quiet since we got here. I had forgotten what silence was like. Well on the bright side he seems to like toads quite a bit."

"Ok Jiraiya-boy, tell us what's goin' on here." Pa asked him, his meaning clear he was brook no gaps in Jiraiya's story.

After placing a silencing Jutsu around the room he began explaining the entire situation to the old toad sages. He told them of the attack by the nine-tailed fox demon, Minato's sacrifice of himself and the binding in his son, and how he had taken the child in. "Everything was fine until we got here and he just started crying and won't stop and I don't know what to do so I, uh, kinda thought you guys might help." His hands were behind his head looking toward the ceiling with a silly, "_By help, I mean do the work for me_ look on his face."

Ma sighed and immediately hopped to the table where Naruto's formula had been and practically gagged. "Jiraiya-boy, you do know ya have to mix the powder formula with water _before_ feeding it to the child right? And why does it look like you've been using rice-balls mixed in with the formula? Didn't you at least think before this? No flys or ants or anything good for the poor child either!"

"Well, ya see, when we got here I ran out of the liquid stuff and I thought, well, it said it was the same and uh, I tried it and he wouldn't eat it, and so I thought maybe if I put it on the rice-ball he'd eat it ya know?" Jiraiya was many things but a father, as he was discovering, was perhaps not one of them.

With another deep sigh Ma got out a pan and began to mix together some formula while Pa spoke with their not-so-thinking pupil. "Jiraiya-boy, you did a noble thing, so I guess we won't leave ya entirely out in the cold with this little problem of yours, but, my god boy what were ya thinkin?! You should know we're sages, not babysitters! We have stuff to do back up on the mountain and can't sit here takin care o'the child every day. So MAYBE when ya need some help we'll give ya, but don't ya been callin us again at 3 in the morning unless…"

Pa was about to continue his lecture when Ma jumped down with little Naruto in her arms, the look on the child's face as he suckled his bottle was enough to stop the old toad from ranting. _Ma always did look so perfect holdin o'child_. He thought to himself. He also couldn't help but notice how happy it seemed to make Ma, "Well, if Ma wants ta help, then I guess we'll help, but we gotta pull double duty cause Gamabunta's kiddie Gamakichi's been stayin with us a bit and he's just learnin and all with his new legs."

"Any help you guys can give me would be great! It was so easy at first and the girls loved him and then he started all this!"

"You stay away from them girls you old pervert and keep them away from the baby here, he's ta grow up protected, not used to help you with that terrible 'research' you do!" Ma told him strictly. But then sighed afterward at the look on Jiraiya's which clearly showed he had not been listening.

The night wears on as Ma and Pa begin to once again take Jiraiya under their tutelage but instead of the ninja arts this time they are teaching him about how to properly care for a child. Of course they stayed with Jiraiya for several more days before leaving back to Mount Myōbokuzan. Jiraiya, now armed with the knowledge given to him by the Sage Toads cared for Naruto with much greater success, although Naruto still did not take well to any of his prospective "research assistants".

**3 years later**

Three years passed rather uneventfully for the pair as they wandered the five great nations. Naruto had grown from the young infant to a very inquisitive toddler. While Jiraiya may not have been much of a father figure for the young boy he was a great ninja and a sage. Along with Ma and Pa he had begun to teach Naruto about the toads from the time the boy could walk and understand.

Sadly though when Naruto began to speak it was to everyone surprise, or perhaps not as surprising as it should have been for some, that his first words had to do with Jiraiya.

**Flashback**

The toads were helped Jiraiya once again with watching little Naruto, who was currently trying to walk on his own with Ma calling to him from a few feet away in a small hotel room. Jiraiya had just come back after meeting a contact in the town they were in, the village was a small one and its name escaped the sage's because it was so tiny. But Jiraiya had been able to meet an informant who had information on the possibly activity of Orochimaru so they had taken care of Naruto for the past day while Jiraiya met him and got what information he could.

"That it little Naruto, come to Ma!" But as Ma called to the child about to take his first steps he stopped and look at Jiraiya and began to say something.

"Pa!! Jiraiya!! Its Naruto's first word!!!" All three gathered around the child as he struggled with the words coming from his mouth.

He seemed to think a moment "Eeee" with intense concentration he tried again, "Eeeerrrr" everyone held their collective breath as Naruto looked right at Jiraiya and finally said his first words, "Ero-Sennin!"

All three of them fall back in faint at the child's first words with Pa howling in laughter and Ma yelling at Jiraiya and shaking a suddenly appearing rolling pin and smacking him on the head.

**Flashback End**

As it was, however, the first true memories the child had were of his guardian attempting to convince girls to come back to their hotel room constantly. Naruto, however, had figured out very quickly it was easy to stop this and made liberal use of it.

**Flash Back**

Jiraiya was currently speaking to two rather vivacious young women in his room, "Oh yes girls! You are just perfect for my 'research assistants'! Perfect in every way… shape… and form…" The girls giggled at the old man as they sat down next to him on the bed.

Just as he was about to begin to bestow his new "research assistants" with their official titles a quiet knock came to his door and it opened and a small two year old child looked in. "Ero-Sennin, I has a nighmer, can I sweep wit joo?" Naruto began to tear up just a bit and, holding a small frog toy that Ma and Pa had given him, looked at Jiraiya with those piercing azure eyes.

The girls immediately got up and picked up the poor child, "Oh you poor thing! We'll take care of you, come on and get in bed! You never told us you had a child and how could you even think of doing some kind of perverted research with him in the next room! For Shame!" The girls admonished Jiraiya as a pervy old man as they held the now sleeping child between them.

Jiraiya simply sighed and grumbled to himself as he got up and left the room looked back at the child, not sleeping peacefully, wishing he could be that affective. _Well, if nothing else, I guess I am rubbing off on him a bit haha!_

**End Flaskback**

Naruto was walking along with Jiraiya, Ma, and Pa as they taught the boy, who they had proclaimed their great-grandchild through Jiraiya being his self proclaimed guardian and godfather. Jiraiya grimaced as Naruto ate another beetle, _I am going to have to break him of that habit soon… most people are going to find it odd if he is eating dinner and dumps a slug into his soup_ Jiraiya thought to himself.

"Now Naruto, you have to understand that everything around us has a life force. You can feel the Chakra that runs through your own body and but in the years to come we'll show ya that there is a much greater energy surrounding the world and in nature. But to understand it you have to be able to be silent and not move."

Pa was once again trying to explain nature energy to the toddler causing both Ma and Jiraiya to sigh, the boy was three years old and there was no way he could understand those concepts but Pa kept trying. The boy had shown a genuine intelligence and gift with the toads and as soon as he could write had signed the toad contract under the supervision of the three sage's. He wasn't up to summoning a toad yet himself as his Charka system wasn't able to sustain enough energy to do that but the old toad sage's kept explaining to him everything they could so when he was ready he could do it with or without them.

Naruto had lived a strange life up to this point, only staying in hotels and spending most of his life on the road. The toads and Jiraiya did their best to raise the child but he was obviously lonely. It was nice to have the toads when they could be there, which was much more often than they would admit, but he had never met any children his own age. Which was what made this trip so special for Naruto, Jiraiya had told him they were going somewhere new and somewhere he would be staying for a while. He smiled at the child as he walked and listened to Pa, it had never crossed anyone's mind to actually tell Naruto the toad sage's actual name and so the child simply called him Pa and his wife Ma.

Today was a special day though for Naruto, he was going home to Konoha. The third hokage had summoned Jiraiya back home for an important mission having to do with Orochimaru. It would be the first time he would actually see where he was born and the place he would one day protect. Jiraiya had spoken about the village many times to the child and told him about Konoh'a **Will of Fire** and regaled him with stories of its great Shinobi including the other Sannin, Kakashi's faith the White Fang, the third hokage called the professor, and many others.

Naruto watched as Ma and Pa jumped along with him and he ran ahead looking forward to seeing the village for the first time. But before they could arrive a man met them, standing in the middle of road blocking their path.

"Greeting Hiashi! How are things?" Jiraiya called to the man in front of him. Hiashi was wearing his traditional robes of white with black symbols stitched in them covered by a light forest grey on his shoulders fading to white as they went down his sleeves.

"Jiraiya. I had hoped you would do what was right by now." He said his head not even indicating he had accepted the presence of either Naruto or the Sages who both looked more than a bit upset as being both ignored and the obvious vicious intent of his statement.

White a quick nod of his head to Ma and Pa the two toads took the child and jumped off to show him something in the forest. "Hiashi, you know you're not supposed to speak of that in front of him. I had hoped you would realize that what happened was not Naruto's fault."

"How can you say that? He carries that demon inside him! We only just barely finished rebuilding after three years! The village is finally recovering and you think to bring him back so he can release that beast again and cause more damage? I will not allow it Jiraiya, if you lack the strength of will to see what must be done then I will do it for you."

Jiraiya was normally a jovial man who enjoyed life and preferred to laugh and have fun but he had grown fond of Naruto, despite his lack of 'research assistants'. In a silent flash he was gone and stood behind Hiashi with a Kunai pointed at the younger mans back neck.

"Let me make something clear to you Hiashi. You may rule your clan with an iron fist but you do not rule that boy's fate. The Third Hokage has decreed he not be harmed and if he is harmed while I am gone you will have me to deal with as well as the Sages of Myōbokuzan. That child has done nothing wrong to deserve your ire and you would be best to remember that the best you hate is locked inside him, not the child himself."

Hiashi felt a drop of sweat fall down his back, he, as many others in the village could easily forgot that behind the laughs and toads the old ninja had gained the title Sannin for a reason and was considered one of the three legendary ninja of Konoha with good reason behind him. He had not even sensed Jiraiya's chakra being used. However, Hiashi was not one to be threatened by anyone, even one of the Sannin.

"Just remember, what he does will be on your head and _when_ he steps out of line I _will_ be the one to finish what Minato should have years ago." As he finished his statement he nodded his head, Jiraiya lowered his Kunai knife as Hiashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Ma and Pa returned shortly after, "Well Jiraiya-boy, quit the welcome home eh?"


	3. Welcome Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters involved. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Thanks for all of the reviews and comments, please keep them coming! I am reading them and trying to make the story better as I go so I appreciate ideas and constructive criticism!

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Jiraiya had a look cross his face that few seldom saw, a seriousness that made him look older than he was and would remind people just what the old shinobi had been through. It was as if at that moment he remembered all the friends he had lost, his failures and successes, and the years seemed to age the Shinobi making him look older, more mature, and deadly. He nodded to the frogs and smiled at them as they began the final few miles to the village. Ma and Pa took their leave shortly before they reached the village hugging Naruto good-bye and returning to Mount Myōbokuzan.

Naruto had not seen the village of Konohagakure since the night of his birth and as the gates of the village lay before him he could only stare in awe. The symbols inscribed on the gate and the view of the city as they crested the final hill was awe inspiring. For Naruto, it was a picture that would remain with him his entire life. The bustling life of the village was all around him as he walked down the street. All of the people wearing shinobi gear or vendors selling their wares, he had visited many villages and cities before but this one seemed to hold a special meaning for him and he couldn't put his finger on it.

_My home_, went through his mind as he looked around.

A smile crept to his face and he laughed happily looking around. He wanted to run through the streets and see and touch everything, this was his home, he had heard so many stories from Jiraiya about this place and now he was here! He was so happy to finally be home, to be somewhere that he felt safe and secure, somewhere he knew no one could harm him.

Naruto ran ahead dragging his guardian along pointing out little things along the way. Anything from a ninja-hound to a toy fox seemed to capture the imagination of the child. All of the sights, colors, sounds, and views entrapped the young child's mind. He seemed so happy and uncaring, it was a sight made Jiraiya happy inside, knowing he was part of the reason this child was able to be happy and feel safe. Unfortunately he did wish Naruto would slow down some as he ran from one vendor to the next staring in awe for a few moments before moving on.

The gift of being a child and the wonder and awe that Naruto was caught up in kept him from seeing the faces of the villagers when they saw the boy and his guardian walking down the road to the Hokage Tower. Jiraiya, however, was not so oblivious to the whispering and the looks of apprehension, fear, and sometimes outright anger directed toward the boy.

_I had hoped they would have learned and their wounds had healed with time, sadly, it looks like I was wrong._ Jiraiya thought with a sigh as he continued toward the tower.

"Come on Naruto, we're expected by the Third Hokage and can't keep him waiting. You'll have time to look around later." Jiraiya smiled at the boys response.

"Okie Sagie," followed by after a moment, "Whas the third hokage like?" Naruto spoke with the inquisitiveness of a child almost four years old.

"He's a wise and powerful man who knows every Jutsu in the world!" Naruto looked on with wide eyes at the thought of knowing every Jutsu in the world. "In fact, you can see his face up on that mountain over there, that's him, the third one from the left to the right."

Naruto turned his face to look at the mountain and stared at the mountain, seeing the four faces carved into the rock. He looked at each of the Hokage in wonder and imagined his own face upon the rock. It took him a moment to realize that Jiraiya had begun to walk away and leave him staring at the mountain before running after him.

**At the Hokage Tower**

Jiraiya and Naruto arrived at the tower where Naruto waited in the reception area looking at the pictures of the past Hokage's and great Shinobi of the leaf village. Most he recognized from the stories Jiraiya had told him but seeing them here, it made them so much more real to the child.

_They defended the village with their lives,_ Naruto thought to himself.

While Naruto looked at the photographs and amused himself in the reception area under the careful scrutiny of the secretary and assistants of the Third Hokage Jiraiya stood before his sensei with crossed arms as he finished his report on Orochimaru.

"From what my contacts have told me Orochimaru has been on the move. He seems to be bringing rogue ninja from other villages to him. I am not sure what he is planning but you can be sure its nothing good. He has also been seen running around with several other S-Ranked rogue Shinobi, I am not sure what he is after but they also mentioned he has been seeking information on the Jinjuriki hosts."

The pipe which his sensei usually smoked lay on the table before him. His hands were in front of him as his elbows rested on the table, fingers interlaced and his eyes closed in thought.

"This confirms what our own informants have told us, although I was unaware of him seeing information on the Jinjuriki hosts. I will need you to go undercover and investigate this matter personally. We cannot afford to allow Orochimaru to gain a strong force and grow stronger, we must keep a careful watch on him. Whatever my old student is up to, it will mean nothing good for Konoha and for the great nations. We have a responsibility to keep watch on his movements to our fellow nations and shinobi."

Jiraiya looked at his sensei and nodded, "And what of Naruto? I can't take him with me while I do this and I will be gone for some time."

"Naruto will remain here in Konoha, he will be safe here and its time he started at the Academy with the other shinobi children. I have made arrangements for an apartment for him and since he's been traveling with you I can assume he knows how to look after himself."

"That's not really my concern master, Naruto is a resourceful child and he's intelligent, shows a lot of potential. But the village, I saw the way they looked at him when we arrived. They haven't changed their opinion, they still hate or fear him, they won't welcome him."

Jiraiya did not mention the incident with Hiashi as he did not think it would change anything. That was a private matter between the two of them.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha's Third Hokage and known through the lands as the Professor gave his student a steady gaze. His eyes were flat, his face seemed more lined and time seemed to show more on the old Hokage now more than ever. He nodded to his student accepting his criticism and opinion thinking before responding.

"Much of the village saw your taking guardianship of the child as a sign they were right to fear the child. They viewed it as my taking a precaution against the beast escaping, putting one of our greatest shinobi in position to kill the child should be become the beast that is sealed inside him. I had hoped that time and distance would have healed their fear and helped quiet their anger, it seems I was wrong.

"But Naruto must learn to accept it as well, and it's best he be introduced to it now rather than later. The village can't learn to accept the boy if he isn't here and some time here will let him get to know the children in his generation who have not been told of his condition. We can't hide him from the pain of the villagers or their fear. The only way he can overcome either is to meet them and show them who he is.

"He is young and, if I am right, he will show us that he is rightfully Minato's son. Iruka will be his sensei in the academy and I'll have my secretary give you the address to his apartment. You need to leave as soon as possible for this mission. Minato prepared for this and he had funds set aside to pay for Naruto and there is plenty there so he won't have to worry about paying for food and he'll get an allowance every month for it."

"Yes Sensei, we'll go immediately. I wish he was old enough to summon the frogs to help him. Sadly without me here they won't have a strong enough Chakra signature to home in on to reverse summon themselves, Naruto's chakra system is still too weak, although it's been growing rapidly. I won't fail you and I think you'll be happily surprised with Naruto's abilities."

With a final nod of dismissal from his sensei Jiraiya quietly leaves the office and picks up Naruto from the secretary and the information on both his mission and Naruto's apartment. The two travel quickly to his apartment and upon opening it find a fairly spacious place sparsely decorated. A bedroom, small living room/kitchen, with several closets including a bed, desk, some utilities, but otherwise left alone. While not huge it would be more than enough for the young boy to have.

After making a run to the store and stocking it with plenty of ramen, which Naruto had immediately taken a liking to the moment he had some of Jiraiya's one day while visiting a village in Water Country. It was growing late and Jiraiya knew he had to leave early the next morning so he sat down with the young Naruto to explain to him what was about to happen.

"Hey kid, come here a sec." Jiraiya summoned his young charge to him.

"Look, I've been given a mission that's going to take me away for a while, I am not sure how long, but you'll be staying here alone without me ok? Your enrolled in the Academy starting tomorrow so make sure your not late. I want to get good reports from Iruka-Sensei when I get back k?"

"Yes Sagie!" As many times as he tried Jiraiya just couldn't get the kid to call him Jiraiya, it was either Ero-Sennin or Sagie, he had taken the latter since it was the least evil of the two but he hopes the kid would change his mind some day.

"Well kid, I got you a bit of a gift while I am gone."

Jiraiya took out a small package which Naruto immediately ripped open to find a green frog wallet. Naruto immediately jumped up and hugged his guardian. Naruto had few possessions of his own, a few stuffed toys that had traveled with him but if it couldn't be packed into a small bag he couldn't keep it. Jiraiya hugged the small child back, surprising himself at how much he actually thought he was going to miss the kid and hoping the village could see the inside of the child and not the fox demon.

**The Next Morning**

Jiraiya had left early that morning, rustling Naruto's hair with a quick good-bye while the child slept. He was miles away when Naruto awoke the silence of his apartment. The quiet was a tad unsettling for the child but he was used to Jiraiya being gone and shrugged as he made himself Ramen with Beef and Pork for breakfast. Looking at the clock he left to go to his first day at the Academy!

Naruto ate his breakfast quickly since he wasn't very hungry to begin with and too excited at his first day at the Academy to really eat much. He quickly packed his school supplies, hastily gathered the day before, and pulled on his clothes. Jiraiya had insisted he get some new clothes as well so he walked out wearing black cargo pants along with a white shirt and an orange jacket bordered in black which gave him a slight look of being on fire.

It didn't take Naruto long to arrive at the Academy, in fact, he was still rather early. He had run most of the way and was barely winded from his effort. Most of the villagers had been busy and not noticed the small child running past them. He found only a few people in the classroom and after taking a deep breath entered through the door. Naruto looked around and was gifted with a smile from Iruka who motioned for him to come on in.

"Ahhh, you must be Naruto, I was told you'd be joining us from now on until Master Jiraiya comes back to get you. Well, there are several seats open and none are assigned so go ahead and pick one."

Iruka motioned to the now filling seats as Naruto's eyes wandered over the other children in the room. It was not lost on the other younglings that they had a new member of the class. With Naruto's bright blue eyes and blonde, spiky hair he tended to stick out in a crowd rather easily. He started climbing the stairs while the children chatted and murmured to one another, he was a rather hot topic on their conversation lists right then.

Naruto finally chose his seat in middle right side of the class next to a young boy with a rather depressed look on his face. He was wearing a dark blue jacket and clothes were varying shards of dark blue and black while his face gave him a sense that he was simply bored here at school and rather uninterested in anybody.

"Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, mind if I sit here?"

"Yeah sure, names Sasuke Uchiha, you're the new kid right? Well, at least if you sit here those girrrrrllllssss won't."

"Cool, I've, um, never been in a class before, are girls bad things?"

Sasuke gave him a rather odd look but before he could say anything Iruka-sensei began their lesson. Today they were learning about the Chakra system and how they would learn to control the system itself and the flow of the Chakra. Iruka stood in front of a screen pulled down which marked every chakra point on a person's body explaining the way the system worked.

"Every person has a certain number of Chakra points, the system regulates the ebb and flow of the chakra inside of you. By manipulating the chakra from one point to another you can do anything from increase endurance, to simple and advanced jutsu, increased strength and resilience, everything starts here with the Chakra System.

"Some families have obtained special blood-line jutsu which allows them to view this system such as the Uchiha sharingan or the Hyuuga byakugan. But most of us just have to develop the ability to feel and sense another users chakra. By strengthening the chakra system and gaining a better sense into the system itself, allow yourself to become stronger and to use more efficient chakra control for jutsu, and gain more resilience, strength, and endurance. Having a strong chakra system is one of the keys to becoming a great shinobi."

Iruka continued with this for a long time explaining how the chakra network connected from one point to another and how it was also connected to the body's organs and systems. It was all very basic information that most of the village already knew and Iruka was making it even simpler for the children to understand. Naruto was fascinated, although he had this explained to him a dozen times by Pa he now saw how it affected himself, the old sage kept explaining it in terms of nature energy all around them but Iruka was filling in the gaps that Naruto hadn't known about.

While Naruto stared at the picture lost in his own mind about the Chakra system he didn't notice a small girl sitting not far from him glancing at him. Her hair was dark, close to black with hints of dark purple coloring in them, the style had left her hair cut shot with two ends left long in the front. Her eyes were lilac colored and her skin extremely pale. She was also concentrating on the lesson but for some reason she couldn't help but glance back at the young blonde who had just entered the room.

The lesson continued and they were taught grammar, math, history, everything a young shinobi would be need to survive in the world, until lunch time when the class was released to go outside, they were told to be ready for a quiz the next day and for practical application lesson which Sasuke had told Naruto meant they would actually practice using Chakra.

Naruto followed his classmates outside and began to play with them on the playground. He had never played with other children his age before and he found he enjoyed it a lot! He swung on the swings and played on the ninja-bars with his classmates! He had never known he could have so much fun in his life! The children was running around and laughing as they played tag to see who could stay away from the person who was it longest when the parents arrived.

Upon seeing their children playing with Naruto they immediately gathered them up and with glares and more than one curse in his direction stalked away. Their ire and anger and even fear confused the boy.

The parents spoke to one another, not even attempting to hide their voices, "How could they let _that_ into the academy!" "He's evil, stay away from him!" "What is Lord Third thinking?!" "We can't let our children be corrupted by that _THING!_" And the comments continued and continued as they walked away until Naruto couldn't hear them anymore.

Naruto didn't understand why they were so angry with him. He sat on the ground looking around him trying to understand if he had done something wrong? Had he made a mistake? Broken a rule? What had he done to make them so angry? He just simply did not understand. He was the last one to leave the playground finally standing up and walking home.

As he walked home he saw the villagers who had not noticed him in the morning glare at him with anger and whisper and point at him. A tear began to fall down his face as he thought about his guardian and how much he missed him. He simply did not understand what was going on or why. He wished Sagie was there, even if he brought his weird 'research assistants' with him.

Naruto sat on his bed that night crying into his pillow, it had been a long trip back to his apartment and he had gotten lost several times. When he had tried to ask for directions the people had yelled him to leave their establishment and to get out. No one had been willing to help him. They all seemed mad at him for one reason or another. Their comments cut into his small heart and he couldn't understand why they acted like this. As he lay in his bed he felt something he had never felt before, loneliness and it tore his heart, each comment, glare, and angry word coming back to him. The silence of his apartment was deafening to him. He wished so hard that Sagie would come back through the door and that Ma and Pa would appear and be there for him. But they weren't there. So he did what any child his age would do, he cried.


	4. Unexpected Visitors

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this Fan Fiction. I do not make money from this Fan Fiction

Thanks so much for the reviews so far, I appreciate the help and support and some of your ideas are really helping me along with inspiration for this story so please keep them coming! Also if you see where I misspelled something particular pls just send me a note and I'll make sure to fix it so I don't continue to misspell it in the future

**The next morning**

Naruto awoke from his slumber. His eyes was a bit red and puffy from crying himself to sleep in his bed and his movements were still sluggish and the excitement and pep of the previous day seemed to have gone out of his step. He dragged himself out of bed and into the shower, bathed himself and then made himself some breakfast but again he wasn't really hungry.

Nartuo opened the door and locked his apartment behind him as he left to go to class. Once again he arrived early and Iruka smiled at him, the smile made Naruto feel better about himself. Iruka-Sensei noticed the faltering step as Naruto went to his seat from the previous day where Sasuke sat.

"Hi, mind if I sit here again?" he asked, his voice was a bit tentative, unsure what response he would receive after yesterday.

Sasuke gave him a strange look with a cocked eye and responded, "Sure Dope, why wouldn't you be able too?"

Relief washed over Naruto as he sat down and the two began to talk a bit. Naruto learned that Sasuke was a member of the Uchiha Clan and his father, Fugaku was the head of their entire clan. Their conversation was cut short, as it had yesterday, when Iruka-sensei called the class to order and began to explain the lesson for the day.

"Alright, today we'll start with a quiz on the Chakra system followed by a practical application lesson involving the Chakra system and Jutsu." As Iruka-sensei finished his instructions on the quiz there was a soft pop and the quiz papers appeared in front of every student.

A soft groan was heard from a small child in the back along with a muttering of how "boring" quizzes were and that there were "too much work". When Naruto looked back the kid who had made the comments had already laid down his head and gone to sleep without even looking at the quiz in front of him.

Naruto shrugged and focused on his quiz. The questions were mostly basic asking which way the Chakra flowed and having a diagram for him to fill the blanks into.

_Sagie told me to make him proud, I can do that!_ He thought to himself as he picked up his pen and began to write the answers. Naruto quickly finished the quiz and he looked around the room for the first time since he had arrived and really looked at the other students.

He saw they were all different and many were wearing the symbols of their families and clans. He also recognized most of them from the day before when their parents had removed them and told many of them to stay away from him. He wondered if they would do that or if maybe he'd make a few friends from the group.

The quiz didn't take long to complete, and after waking up the sleeping kid in the back, the classes quizzes disappeared in a small poof of smoke they had arrived in and they were herded outside into the playground. Iruke-sensei stood in front of them and began explaining their assignment.

"Ok, as you learned this week the Chakra system can be used for many things such as increasing your resilience and strength. Now, your Chakra systems are rather undeveloped compared to what they will be in a few years when you graduate and become Genin. But today we're going to begin your practical lesson on controlling your Chakra system and by routing your chakra to your finger tips to help you climb this smooth wall here."

In a soft poof a flat wooden wall appeared behind Iruka-sensei. There was nothing special about the wood, it was polished and about 6 feet high, not very high for a shinobi, but the kids weren't used to climbing using only Chakra to help them and they were told they would have no running start but instead they would simply climb with their hands and feet.

Iruka explained to the class they would need to meditate and feel their chakra system as they had been over the past few weeks and focus that chakra into their fingers and toes. Once they had the chakra there they were to attempt to climb the wall. Naruto stood next to Sasuke as he sat down and began to feel his Chakra system.

It brought a warm feeling to his body as he focused on the inner power inside him and a sense of calm covered his body. Ma and Pa had been spending hours droning on about how to do this and had taught him about Chakra, so this part of the exercise was pretty easy. Most of the children were able to focus the chakra but maintaining the hold as they tried to climb the wall turned out to be the hard part.

Naruto noticed most of his classmates kept sliding back down when they were a few steps in and lost their focus. Naruto grinned as Sasuke made his first attempt and almost reached the top. Naruto placed his fingers to the wall and felt the Chakra gripping the wood, it made it feel warm to touch and he started climbing. As he pulled himself up he felt his Chakra slipping from his fingers and when he had just about reached where Sasuke had falling down his Chakra ran out and he fell.

"Naruto, you need to continuously feed Chakra to your fingers and toes, if you stop the Chakra built up there will just slip away and then you won't have any left." Iruka-sensei rewarded him with a smile as he nodded and concentrated to try again.

This time Sasuke made it to the top and jumped down with a bored expression. Naruto managed to make it to the top on this third try and was second to finish. He had trouble continuing to push Chakra into his fingers and toes and kept forgetting to keep the flow open. He jumped down and decided to try it again. He found he was tired after his seventh attempt to get it on a second try. Sasuke, not wanting to be outdone by the new-kid had also kept trying for a second attempt and managed it at the seventh attempt. Naruto managed it on his eighth but felt like he just wanted to lay down and sleep.

No one had noticed that several hours had passed since they had started the exercise. All of the children had finished climbing the wall at least once, although several had to have help from Iruka-sensei to finally make it. Iruka-sensei called the class to an end and the children went to play.

The parents were waiting for the kids at the playground this time and as the children left the academy picked them up to take them home. Naruto was left on a swing watching as the other kids left the school and once again receiving angry glares although at least no more comments were made toward him. He sighed and once again the loneliness he had felt the day before struck his heart and he began to walk home.

Naruto had made sure to take time to remember how to get home this time, he didn't want to have to ask for directions again. He unlocked his door and slid inside. He made himself some dinner and once again laid down to sleep, he was so tired, clutching the frog wallet that his guardian had given him and wishing again he was there.

**The following month**

Naruto gradually fell into a routine where he would wake up and fix himself breakfast, go to the academy and then, after the other kids parents had taken them away to play elsewhere, he would either play by himself or come home. The only good part of his day was when they were at the academy. Iruka-sensei was always nice to him and the other kids didn't seem to mind him the way their parents did.

Sasuke had even started talking to him more, while he didn't really know the other kids in the place a few had introduced themselves. Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru and Choji all seemed nice but he didn't sit near them in class. He learned from Sasauke that the girl with pink hair was named Sakura and the one with blonde was Ino. But whenever class ended the villagers always took the kids away and glared at him. Some days were worse than others but it always reminded him how alone he was.

Naruto found himself holding onto the frog wallet at night more and more thinking of Ma and Pa and Sagie. He was caught in a cycle he did not truly understand and he wasn't sure how to handle it. With a sigh he woke up that morning, it was Saturday, a little over a month since Jiraiya had left for his mission. As Naruto's eyes were woken by the intruding sunlight he noticed a sound in the background, it sounded like sizzling??? And his nose detecting food cooking, but, he was in his bed? And the door had been locked?!

Naruto jumped out of bed and opened the door to his small living room/kitchen to find a person standing there cooking breakfast. A young kunoichi was standing over his stove and turned to look at him and regarded him with a smile. She had fighting tape wrapped around her hands and up her arms. Her hair was a very dark brown which was well past her shoulders was braided behind her head and her forehead was covered by a forehead protector with the symbol of the leaf village on it. Her outfit was white and form fitting running down her body to stop at her knees with red sleeves coming down her arms to just above her wrists. Her eyes also held a strange reddish brown and her smile was friendly.

"Good Morning Naruto, I'm Kurenai Yūhi!"

"Uh, Good Morning, uh, who are you?" Naruto wasn't really sure what to do, he had come out of his room to find a kunoichi in his kitchen cooking and she didn't seem at all surprised to find him there.

Kurenai took a plate from his cabinet and loaded it up with eggs, rice, and bacon before setting it along with some juice on a table and motioning for him to sit down and eat. Being a young boy and not having eaten much lately the smell of cooked food overcame Naruto's other senses and he quickly moved to the table and began to eat ravenously.

"So you're probably wondering what I'm doing here. Well master Jiraiya wanted someone to stop in and check on you every once in a while, make sure you were eating something other than ramen all the time, so he asked me to make sure you were ok."

Kurenai gave him a smile that seemed very genuine and the child smiled back as if unsure whether to accept that or not as he swallowed the food in his mouth, which he hadn't properly chewed. The memory Jiraiya's visit came to her forethoughts as Kurenai watched Naruto eat.

**Flash Back**

It had been very early morning when she heard the knock on her apartment door. With a yawn, Kurenai had gotten up and opened the door. She wasn't sure what she had expected at this early time but a visit from one of the Sannin certainly hadn't been it.

"May I come inside?" Jiraiya asked her with a rather serious expression for the usually funny old sage.

"Certainly Lord Jiraiya, what brings you here at this hour? I heard you were leaving for an important mission soon."

Jiraiya nodded, "I am actually on my way out of the village, but you know of my charge? Naruto?" When Kurenai nodded that she had indeed heard of the young child with the fox demon sealed inside him he continued.

"I am coming to you because I need someone to watch him. I know the village will not be kind to him, in fact, they will probably be very cruel at first and it's going to be hard on him. He has always had either me or one of the toad sage's with him. He's a good kid Kurenai and I have a request, would you please watch over and help him? He… needs more than just a friend at the academy… he needs someone to be able to at least see smile when he walks by. I just don't think the villagers are going to be as accepting.

"I know from your past you'll understand that to a certain extent. The third hokage and I made a mistake when I took him away, we had hoped the village would heal after it had rebuilt and mourned, but they didn't, they are still so angry and Naruto is so young, he just won't be able to understand why everyone is acting the way they are. The third hokage and I both know that the village will just continue to grow in their anger without him here. He needs a chance to show them he isn't to be feared, to make allies to fight the anger in the village.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but could you maybe just go visit him? Check in on him for me? You've always had a gentle spirit and I know he'd appreciate it more than he could say. And I'd owe you one."

Jiraiya finished his request with a wink and Kurenai had agreed to watch the boy while he was gone. She hadn't really been too sure about visiting him but decided if it was important enough for Jiraiya to come to her house and ask it, she could at least check into it.

**End Flashback **

Kurenai indeed understood what it meant to come into the village and be the outsider. She herself had come to the village at a young age and remembered how it felt to be an outsider. And how could she deny such a heart-felt request by one of the legendary shinobi? She had agreed and watched the boy several times since then, making sure he was ok, but this was the first time she had actually come out to meet the child.

"So how are you Naruto?" Kurenai asked the boy infront of her as he wolfed down the rice and eggs.

When she had arrived she noticed that the apartment was clean, although the child had obviously only made ramen for probably the past month. She had taken it on herself to bring some other food over having been forewarned by Jiraiya that the child probably would eat nothing but ramen while he was gone.

"I'm ok, I like the academy a lot." Naruto answered her, she noticed the lack of mentioning anything else having to do with the village.

It didn't really surprise her since she had been watching the child as much as she could in her spare time. She had seen that he and the young Uchiha, Itachi's brother, had started to become friends. But she saw how the child always got left out and how the villagers had glared at him and taken the other children away the moment they were let out of the academy.

She gave him another smile and responded, "Iruka-sensei is a very good teacher and he said you've been doing well. The academy is a great place to learn. Have you made any friends?"

Naruto gave her a kind of half nod as if not entirely sure whether to call anyone at the academy 'friend'. "Sasuke Uchiha, I think. He's kind of quiet."

She nodded to him as he finished his meal and asked him if he would like more. He said yes and she refilled his plate. From the way he ate she would guess he hadn't been eating much and he looked rather thin. It made her more than a little angry at the village, this child being the focus of their anger.

Originally Kurenai had only planned to visit him for an hour or so and make sure he was alright but after seeing the way he had been treated she had decided, since had the day off, to take him out and do something fun. It looked like he hadn't had anything like that since he had arrived.

"So what would you like to do today Naruto?" She asked him and he stopped eating. He stared at her with big eyes as if he did not entirely understand the question and it hit her, he had expected her to leave after checking in on him.

_Does he really think the villagers are so cold?_ She wondered to herself. She gave him another smile and he finishing the mouthful of food that had gotten caught half eaten.

"Um, I don't know, I've, um, never been around really. People, um, don't seem to like me." He refused to meet her gaze and squirmed a bit in his seat as he said it. She could see he was hiding his feelings behind his smiles, or at least was trying, but only partially succeeding.

Kurenai was seized with sympathy for the child before her. She could imagine that he probably had stayed in his apartment when not at the academy or been forced to get more ramen. She smiled at him again showing she wasn't one of the evil villagers who hated him for no reason.

"Well, let's see, why don't we take a walk and I can show you around Konoha since you haven't been out much?" Naruto nodded, his smile brightening.

_How can the villagers be so cruel? He's just a kid_ She thought to herself.

A few hours later Kurenai was walking along with Naruto following her. She ignored the villagers as their icy stares directed toward the child and she pointed out the landmarks of Konoha to him. She showed him the different practice fields available to all of the shinobi, gave him a closer look at the hokage carved into the mountain, the different markets, weapons shops, the complexes where the different clans lived, and an all around tour of the entire village. Naruto hadn't seen any of this and for the first time in over a month actually felt relaxed outside and a bit happy outside of the academy.

As Kurenai and Naruto rounded the final practice Kurenai explained to Naruto how the fields were used and that anyone could use them as long as they weren't scheduled for training with a team. The pair made their way back to Naruto's apartment where she made sure he ate a proper dinner and left shortly after saying she would visit again when she was able but that she wasn't sure when that would be.

Kurenai couldn't shield Naruto from the village but at least he knew there was someone who didn't hate him in the village. And that gave him some peace of mind that maybe others didn't as well and this made the world seem a tad less scary and a bit less lonely.

**Late One Evening**

It was a few weeks after Kurenai's meeting with Naruto, she hadn't seen him again but had a few days off soon and she was going to visit him then. It was late and she had just finished showering from her mission. As she relaxed on the couch with a drink and a book she heard a knock at her door. It was late, the sun had long since set and a visitor would not be likely.

Kurenai was surprised to find a silver haired young shinobi standing at the door when she opened it. Kakashi Hatake or, as others called him, the Copy Ninja stood in at her door. He looked tired from the eye she was able to see. She had heard he had been away on a long-term assignment in the land of waves. He nodded to her and she motioned for him to come inside.

"Kurenai, sorry for intruding, I just got back and heard… is it true that Lord Jiraiya left a child at the village?" She had known Kakashi for a long time and he seemed, well, tense for his normally laid back perspective. She nodded to him and he asked her to describe him.

"His name is Naruto Uzumaki, he's 4 and a half years old, seems pretty talented and smart, perceptive for one so young. Spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, and will be trouble one day if I don't miss my guess. He's terribly lonely though, the villagers for the most part see him as a threat and don't hide their animosity toward them. He's weathering it well though, as well as any young child could."

She almost thought she saw Kakashi visibly tense before he spoke, "Thank you, sorry to intrude, I just had to know..."

And with that Kakashi disappeared from her apartment. Kurenai was rather perplexed by his actions but figured he must have reason for them, he was Kakashi and well known to act rather oddly at times.

What Kurenai didn't know was the real reason Kakashi had left so suddenly. He sat on the roof of an empty house hidden within the shadows, far enough from anyone that they couldn't see him. Kakashi wasn't one known to show a lot of emotion, in fact he was more known for his "too cool for school" attitude. But if anyone could have seen his shadowed face they would have known at once he was crying. The frustration and exhaustion from his mission inter-mixing in a storm of emotion he was unable to control. He had heard of the fox-child when he had come back from the villagers and had felt and heard their ire and anger and hatred.

He also heard Kurenai had been seen with Naruto and couldn't stop himself from at least asking her how he was. Kakashi of course knew who Naruto was and when he had seen the reaction by the villagers around him to a question about the boy, the anger and hate, he had been more than a little shocked. He had seen the child himself but only from a distance, and he looked so much like Minato, he had had to ask about him.

_I'm sorry I wasn't here Naruto, and I wish so much I could help you. Minato, forgive me, but if I try and get close to your son now then the entire purpose of keeping him away from the village, keeping him safe, it would be useless. Everyone knows I was your student sensei, and with the similarities already coming out, they'd put 2 and 2 together so easily and every enemy you ever made would be after him, he'd be in danger._ Kakashi's thoughts flashed to his sensei, Rin, Obito, and the missions they had been on. And the weight in his chest as knowing he couldn't help his sensei's son was like a lump he couldn't get rid of.

For the first time Kakashi knew what it felt to want to help someone and not be able, to feel helpless. Even though Jiraiya had been Minato's sensei they could at least come up with several plausible explanations as to why he had a child with him. Anything from it was his grandson to his own child, and with him being far from the village normally no one would even think to ask who either Jiraiya or Naruto were, most assumed a blood relation and left it at that. But Kakashi knew if someone saw him, a young adult with a child that had such striking resemblance to his own sensei, they would knew immediately who he was, so he had to stay away.

_One day Sensei, I promise, he will be my student and I will teach him everything you would want and I will protect him._ Kakashi's final thoughts took him as he stood up, the last of his tears falling away as he disappeared into the night.

**A Few Months Later**

A few months after Kurenai's initial visit Naruto had finally settled into a normal routine where he went to class in the morning and trained in the afternoon. Most of the other kids had begun to avoid him on the warnings of their parents. There was nothing concrete or even said by most of their parents but they tended to follow by example. This hurt Naruto a lot as even Sasuke began to pull away and talk to him less.

He had hoped to be able to make more friends with the kids in his class but he never got a chance too since their parents always took them away from him when they got out of class. Naruto was trying for again to climb the wooden wall left up by Iruka-sensei. He had lost count of how many times he had attempted it. But as he fell down again he punched the dirt with his fist in frustration.

_Why is this so hard?! It's a stupid wooden wall!_ Naruto thought to himself as he got up to try again.

"You've been at this for a while Naruto, maybe you should take a break huh?" A voice called over to him.

It startled Naruto enough that he nearly fell down again. Iruka-Sensei walked over and smiled at him. He had been watching Naruto every day and noticed that he had been trying more and more to climb the wall he had left up. Finally he decided to come out and talk to the boy.

"Why are you trying to climb the wall? You already managed to do it during class?" Iruka asked him curiously. He had seen Naruto climb the wall himself, he didn't entirely understand why the child was trying to climb it still.

"Well, I can't do it on the first try, I want to be stronger so I can do it on the first try!" Naruto told his sensei.

A moment or two passed before Naruto also told Iruka the rest of the reason he was trying so hard, "I was hoping if I could do this really well, maybe the other kids would talk to me more…"

Iruka smiled softly at the child and thought a moment before he spoke again.

"You know Naruto, the other kids don't dislike you, they just don't know you, and neither do their parents. You see those faces on the mountain over there? You know why they were put up their? It was to remind us what we all have to strive for in this world. They were willing to give their lives to defend this village and everyone in it without pause, even the people that might not have liked them.

"If you want to get stronger Naruto, do it for the right reasons, to protect the people who are precious to you and not just popularity. Show them who you really are inside and they'll come around in time. Smile some more, I don't see you smile enough anymore. Keep training hard and don't let anyone ever get you down k?"

Naruto was quiet for a moment as what his sensei told him went through his mind.

_The Hokage would protect everyone, even the people they didn't like?_ Naruto thought to himself.

"One day Iruka-sensei, I am going to be Hokage!" He said it with such enthusiasm that made Iruka smile.

"Well, you can't do it on an empty stomach and I know just the place for you, follow me it's just down the street and it's on me." Iruka ruffled his hair as he introduced Naruto to one of his favorite places in the village, IchirakuRamen! Naruto went crazy at the sight, he had no idea that such a place existed and immediately ordered a big bowl of ramen with beef and pork.

The owner and his daughter laughed at Naruto and Iruka as he explained to Naruto how to advance his training to be able to climb the wall easier over the bowl of ramen. Naruto was feeling better about the village and was happy to have some people who seemed to accept him for him and as he and his sensei parted company he began to finally feel this place was his home.


	5. A Friend

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Thanks for the information on spelling of names and things, I fixed the jinchuuriki spelling for this chapter and will be going back and fixing it on the previous chapter as well, thanks for pointing that out for me! Please keep the reviews coming and let me know your ideas!

**Chapter 5: A Friend**

Jiraiya was laying awake looking at the moon beaming down on him. He had been gone from Konoha and Naruto for over six months. It surprised him how much he actually missed the little guy's presence and his annoying questions. He hadn't realized how big a part of his life the child had become.

Jiraiya had been on the trail of several S-ranked rogue shinobi for the past three months hoping to find some information as to the where-bouts of Orochimaru but so far had been unsuccessful. Whoever these guys were, they were very good and knew what they were doing. He had come close several times to catching up to them only to have them slip past him without him noticing.

They knew how to work together, were very organized, and smart. Combined with their raw power he understood the fear his normal contacts had been consumed with. What was more worrying was that they not only had avoided him so easily but he couldn't even get an accurate description of them.

One thing was for certain, they were interested in the jinchuuriki. He wasn't sure why yet but he knew they were acting in concert and had scared most of his normal contacts half to death. Most didn't even want to talk to him for fear they would come back for them. He had also begun to hear of a new village being founded, from what he had heard they were calling themselves the Sound Village, but again he had little concrete information, nothing more than a rumor at this point.

Jiraiya sighed as he stared at the moon, this mission was going to take longer than he had hoped. His thoughts turning to Naruto again, hoping that he was alright.

_Naruto's a tough kid, I know he can hang in there and Kurenai will watch over him._ With a smile Jiraiya turned over and finally fell asleep.

**Back in Konoha**

Just as Jiraiya was staring at the moon far from the village another figure laid awake right then. A small sigh left the tiny figure tossing and turning on the bed in the large home. The moonlight filtered through the window blinds leaving shadows across the bed and furniture.

Hinata Hyuga, heiress to the Hyuga clan, lay awake yet again. Her rest was often hard to find with her thoughts resting on the blonde haired new comer into her class at the academy. He seemed very nice but her father had told her to stay away from him. In fact, all of the parents seemed to hate him, but she didn't understand why. She watched him, he seemed so lonely at first and she had wanted to talk to him but she didn't want to disobey her father.

She had even gone so far as to follow him when she could get away from her clansmen. She noticed he didn't have many friends, except a few grown-ups who were around on occasions. And he trained a lot, she had kept herself hidden afraid to talk to him.

_He's trying so hard even though everyone else hates him. I wish I had that confidence and strength._ Hinata thought to herself.

She had tried to stand up for him when her father had told her to stay away from him, and it still hurt to think about how he had responded.

**Flashback **

Hinata had been dressed in her white kimono and kneeling before her father, Hiashi. He had a steady, neutral look on his face. Always in control, that was her father.

"Hinata, you have a new member of your class. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. I want you to stay away from him. He is a bad influence and will only dirty the name of the Hyuga clan should you choose to associate with him. I expect you, as my heir and the heir to the leadership of the Hyuga Clan to maintain the honor of the clan.

"Listen to me carefully Hinata, you have already begun to show disappointment as my heir, do not disappoint me further by associating with that boy. Do you understand?"

Hinata was a quiet, shy child who preferred to avoid confrontation and these qualities along with her apparent lack of ability with the gentle fist had already angered her father. He was beginning to see her as useless and questioned her ability to be the heir to the Hyuga Clan. Never before had she questioned her father but he also had never given a command with such lack of reasoning behind him.

"F-father, why should I stay away from this boy? H-he s-seems nice and has d-done n-n-nothing ww-wrong sir." It was barely a whisper, and hardly audible but Hiashi heard it loud and clean.

Anger flashed in his eyes although his face registered none of it.

"So you disappointment again Hinata and question me." His response was quiet, but the pure, cold rage behind it made the words cut into her as if a physical force as he continued, "How dare you?! I am your father! Leader of this clan! My will is law to our clan and my own daughter would question it? You are more worthless than I thought. You are growing into nothing more than a disgrace. I only hope your sister will be more worthy of our clan, for you, obviously, are not. My will is clear, do _NOT _disobey it. Now leave my sight, you disgrace me with your presence."

Her father had not moved him his place in front of her yet it felt as if she had been struck down by a physical blow. She had bowed deeply and left his presence immediately before she angered him futher.

**End Flashback**

Hinata had cried herself to sleep that night. She tried very hard in her training but she simply did not meet her father's standards and while she had tried to stay away from Naruto, she had watched him. She saw how he had not let the villagers stop him from wanting to prove himself and she wanted so much to be more like that.

_He never gives up_, she thought to herself.

She had heard him say several times he was going to be the Hokage. She wasn't sure where that idea had come from but she kind of hoped it would come true. He never let anyone stop him and he was constantly pushing himself to get stronger. She knew he would be Hokage someday. He had the determination inside him to do it.

She had tried to approach him several times when she was watching but her father's tone and words wrung in her ears and combined with her natural shyness she never did.

_What would he think? I am so weak and such a disgrace. I just wish he'd be my friend._ Hinata thought to herself, turning over again in her bed.

Hinata turned over on her side and a single tear fell from her face as she thought how strong Naruto had to be to continue on with a smile, even against the anger and hate of the village. She finally fell into an unhappy sleep.

**That Afternoon the following day**

Naruto had begun to use the practice fields set aside for his age group and under Iruka-sensei and Kurenai's instruction learned how to properly use Kunai knives and other ninja equipment. His skill was getting better every day, although he still had trouble with his chakra control. Right then he was doing more push-ups because he had again missed the fifth target out of the six he was supposed to strike in the field.

Naruto's training had begun to become more serious once had decided on his course.

_The villagers don't like me because they don't know me, they don't want to acknowledge me but the Hokage is the greatest of all the shinobi! He would protect everyone even if they didn't like him and I want to be like that and protect everyone! I will be strong, I will show them who I am and earn their acceptance and respect! It will make Sagie proud!_

Naruto thought to himself as he continued to push himself off the ground. He had begun training more for chakra control and with Iruka's help had advanced to other techniques and meditation which the class had learned in the weeks prior to their current training. Naruto understood the mechanics but with Iruka's help he was really flourishing in the practical application now.

Kurenai had been able to stop by twice more since her first visit with Naruto and had taken Naruto out each time. She had also explained she was a Genjutsu specialist and had explained the difference between Ninnjutsu and Genjutsu to him in their practical application on the battlefield.

Naruto remembered the last time they had gone out she had taken him to a local zoo where they kept a lot of really cool animals. As Naruto lay down to take a short break his mind wandered to that day.

**Flashback**

Naruto had woken up to the sound of Kurenai cooking again, no matter how hard he tried he had not been able to catch her coming into his apartment. He had gotten up the moment he heard the food being cooked, she had shown him how to make it but he still tended to eat nothing but ramen.

"Good Morning Naruto, make sure you eat up! I thought you'd like to see something special today!" She smiled at him and he began to dig into the big pile of eggs, sausage, and rice in front of him. He knew better than to not eat since when he had tried to rush out of the apartment without eating the last time she visited she made him eat everything she cooked first and it had seemed like forever before they left.

Kurenai had really begun to understand that Naruto looked forward to her coming over, as rare it might be, because, other than Iruka's extra instruction, he didn't have anyone to go anywhere with. The parents were being almost religious about keeping their children away from Naruto. It made her frown inside as she thought about it.

"I spoke with Iruka and he said you were beginning weapons practice so I thought we'd visit a weapons store I know and order a few things and then I have a surprise for you!" She smiled brightly at him and he smiled back.

_He really is a good kid, _she thought to herself, _I wish the rest of the village could get over their anger and see that for themselves_

They left shortly after breakfast was finished and Naruto had washed the dishes, Kurenai made him do the dishes since she cooked while she inspected his apartment to make sure he was keeping it clean.

Their visit to the weapon shop hadn't taken long. Since he was with her the owner didn't give Naruto as harsh of a glare, everyone seemed to like Kurenai and was more willing to put up with Naruto when she was around. They had ordered a bunch of weapons, Kunai Knives, rope, flash bombs, smoke bombs, paper bombs, etc and he had paid to have them to be delivered to his apartment so he didn't have to come back without Kurenai to get them.

Then she had surprised him by taking him to the Konoha Zoo! She showed him everything there, bears, lions, tigers, monkeys, snakes, everything! It had been so much fun and she had even gotten him some cotton candy and animal crackers.

When they came to the wolves he noticed one of the smaller ones wasn't part of the group and asked her why.

"Well, that's the runt of the litter. Wolves live in packs and sometimes they have one that's small born and has to work extra hard to become part of the pack. He'll have to prove his worth to the rest of the pack as he grows up to be accepted." She smiled at him and poked him in the stomach. "Just like you shorty!"

He laughed knowing she meant as a joke and had given her a hug. She laughed with him and they had spent the rest of the day at the zoo looking at animals.

**End Flashback**

Naruto smiled to himself, even though the other kids still didn't talk to him much he was glad he had a few people that cared. It really made things easier in the village. With a push Naruto got up and started back on his training.

Unknown to Naruto there was another person at the training field. But Hinata was hiding herself by a tree watching the blonde boy. She wasn't sure why but she always was so inspired by him when she watched. He had been at it for hours, working so hard and she wanted so much to say hello.

_Come on, I can do it, I can say hi!_ She thought to herself, but while she might tell herself she could do it, her body just wouldn't move.

It was started to draw into later afternoon and she knew her father would want to see her before it got later for her own training. She took a step back and heard a loud _Crack!_ as her foot broke a branch. In truth the noise hadn't been that great but to the young kunoichi he was as if someone had set off a bomb and her entire body froze.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Naruto called out.

He had clearly heard the noise and was moving to investigate thinking Iruka had come out to watch him.

Hinata was frozen, her body wouldn't move, she wanted so much to run away right that moment but didn't seem to be able too. Her thoughts were going so quickly and in such a jumble she was having trouble sorting through them.

_How could I be so stupid! He's going to see me and know I've been watching him!? He'll hate me! Think I am weird! Oh god Oh god Oh god he's coming!_

Naruto pushed aside a tree branch and was startled to find a girl his age standing there looking as if she was frightened to near death. He stared at her. She had dark hair, black really with some highlights of purple and her eyes were lilac. Her clothes were the traditional black ninja garb with a light coat over it.

Hinata suddenly felt as if she had regained control of her body and bowed her heard before speaking.

"I..um… I… I… am… uh… H-Hinata Hyuga…" She continued to stammer apologizes about watching him but most of it came out an unintelligible mass.

Naruto simply stared at the girl and then smiled, "Hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, it's nice to meet you!"

_Will she be my friend?_ He thought to himself.

Hinata raised her head and smiled slightly, she placed her fingers together and interlaced them with the front two poking each other. She was really not sure what to do now, she felt she had been caught and was guilty and her face was heating up and she knew he could see it.

"Uh, you look kinda red, are you ok?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"Um, uh… y-yes I a-am." Hinata's voice was barely an audible squeak as she tried so hard not to faint.

Naruto looked at the girl in front of him and with a bright smile to her he asked the question he had wanted to ask someone in his class for over six months now.

"Um, would, you, uh, like to be my friend Hinata?" Naruto tried to act casual with the question but his entire heart was caught up in the question. This was the first person he had met from his class and, yeah, she was a bit odd but maybe she wanted to be his friend!

_She's kinda weird but cute, I hope she wants to be my friend!_ He thought.

Hinata wasn't sure what to do, she been caught and he wanted to be her friend! Her heart did a sort of flip in her chest and for the first time her life she didn't listen to the voice in her head that sounded like her fathers.

"I… Um… Y-yes, I-I'd like t-t-o be f-f-f-riends." She smiled ever so slightly at the statement.

Naruto jumped in the air and cheered. A bit of an over-reaction perhaps but he was so happy to have a friend from his class at the academy!

"Would you like to train with me?!" He asked hurriedly hoping she wouldn't change her mind.

"Um.. well.. I-I'm n-n-not very g-g-ood but, um, o-ok."

"That's ok, neither am, but we can get strong together!" His clear excitement and happiness helped ease Hinata a little until she remembered she needed to be home very soon and wasn't all sure she would make it on time.

"um, I. um, n-n-need to g-go home th-th-ough." She looked down at the ground as she spoke hoping she didn't just ruin everything.

"Ok! How about tomorrow? Want to meet here tomorrow and train after class?"

Unable to say anything to the invitation she nodded and he said good-bye and she quickly ran away. Hinata's heart was doing flips as her belly was full of butterfly's. She was so happy he had wanted to be her friend and terrified her father would find out. She ran all the way home only to just make it in time for her training. Hiashi admonished her for nearly being late and again called her useless and a disappointment but this time a small part of Hinata was able to weather it clinging to the thought that Naruto was her friend, and for some reason she couldn't understand, it helped.

**Up in a tree over the training area**

A soft chuckle which the two young children couldn't hear whispered through the leaves as a third presence had watched the scene unfold. Naruto had left the training area shortly after Hinata and a figure jumped down picking up the broken branch that had given away Hinata's presence. The figure took off a small piece of paper containing a short lived entrapment jutsu on it and let the paper burn before throwing the two ends of the stick far from each other.

"It's about time that happened." The voice said softly before disappearing.


	6. Becoming Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Any of the characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

I wanted to once again say thank you to all those giving me reviews! I have some really great stuff in store for the future with the story that I know you guys will like! Again thank you to those pointing on misspellings and for the suggestions, some of them have really given me some great ideas for the future of the story so please keep them coming!

**Chapter 6: Finally Becoming Home**

**The Next Morning**

The day couldn't come quick enough for Naruto, he had hardly been able to sleep he was so excited.

_I have a friend!_ Naruto thought to himself for the thousandth time.

He couldn't help from smiling as he got up early to make his breakfast, ramen as usual, and downed it almost before it was actually cooked. He left his small apartment as the sun was coming up, he couldn't wait to get to the academy today and for the first time since the first day he had awoken in Konoha he felt run through the streets with excitement.

**Hyuga Complex**

Hinata had risen early, her training with her father had gone mediocre at best. She sighed to herself, she just didn't seem capable with the gentle fist. It was not a lack of understand that stopped her nor a lack of willingness but it just didn't seem to work with her body. As much as she tried the movements themselves never were quick enough or precise, and it made her father angry at her failure to grasp what he saw as the "simple movements and basic knowledge" of the Juken style.

But this morning even her failure at training the day before couldn't stop her from waking with a smile. Her heart was frightened by the thought of being found out by her father but at the same time she had a true friend for the first time in her life. It was true, she had a younger sister, Hanabi, but she was just a baby still and because of her demanding schedule with her father, her clans background, and her own innate shyness she had not really made any true friends.

It was with the secret inside her that she dressed and left that morning for the academy. She knew if her father found out she had become friends with Naruto he would be furious, but she also knew that it felt right to her.

**The Academy**

Naruto arrived just as Iruka-sensei was opening the door to the classroom. He had ignored the glares and angry glances of the villagers, nothing could stop him from looking forward to today. He smiled brightly as Iruka, who smiled back, and opened the door as Naruto came inside and bowed to his sensei.

_That's odd, Naruto likes to get here early sometimes to avoid meeting the villagers in the morning but he seems truly happy today_ Iruka thought to himself, but did not press on it, if the boy was happy then he was glad for whatever reason was behind it. He did make a mental note to watch for a cause for the happiness though.

"How are you today Naruto? I heard your weapons training has been going well, did those new practice exercises help?" Iruka asked him.

"Yes Iruka-Sensei, I am able to strike 5 targets at once dead-on! Thank you for the help Sensei!" Naruto responded promptly.

Iruka had been giving the boy exercises and tips to help him catch up in areas that he felt the boy might be a bit lagging because he had not joined the academy or grown up among shinobi other than Lord Jiraiya and that Jiraiya probably hadn't taught the boy.

Iruka smiled again, "Well, I'll have to show you some more exercises then so you can get stronger, have you tried using weights to train with?"

When Naruto shook his head Iruka began to explain that many Shinobi trained with weights placed on certain parts of their body, usually the legs, forearms, and shoulders. The weights would have a Genjutsu placed on them so they would feel as if they weighed as much as the user would like to the user increasing the strength, stamina, and power of the user when they were removed.

Naruto listened attentively to this nodding on occasion and smiled, "Wow, those would be great!"

_I bet Kerunai will know where to get some, she's great with Genjutsu!_ Naruto thought to himself

As Iruka finished his explanation other members of the class began to come into the room and Naruto went to his usual seat next to Sasuke. Sasuke usually arrived early, not wanting to be last in anything, even if it was arriving to class. He nodded to Naruto who took his seat next to him and smiled.

Sasuke was still unsure how to act around the boy, his parents didn't truly care about him and had not warned him to stay away but many of the other adults seemed to want him and the other children to have nothing to do with him. It left them in a sort of awkward neutral, limbo territory where neither was sure how to act around the other.

They made their usually polite morning conversation, not really friendly but not hostile, more of a routine than any real feeling behind it. But this time Naruto seemed happier to Sasuke, more like when he had first met him on the first day he had arrived.

Hinata entered the room and went to her seat in the middle of the class where she could hide from everyone. She saw Naruto sitting next to the Uchiha boy, he gave her a bright smile and a thumbs up, she gave a shy smile back and nodded to him before taking her seat.

_He has no fear at times_ she thought to herself.

As with every day Iruka-Sensei started the lesson promptly on time and continued. As with every day he was explaining how a new jutsu worked in connection with the Chakra system and with every day Naruto and Sasuke listened attentively, even if Sasuke had mastered the ability to look bored with doing it. Naruto listened to the words of his sensei as he explained the transformation jutsu and how they could use it to make clones and change themselves or even substitute items for themselves in battle.

The lesson seemed to drag on today and took forever until it finally ended at lunch time. Naruto waited as he usually did for the room to clear before leaving. He had stopped trying to leave with everyone else since they all tended to avoid him anyway and this way he didn't have to listen to the parents outside and be reminded he did not have any.

But on the bright side it meant Iruka-sensei would sometimes offer to treat Naruto for lunch as their favorite ramen hut! However today Naruto was not the only one waiting around as he saw the dark haired girl also had waited until the classroom had emptied.

Hinata took a deep breath, he heart was beating faster than normal and she felt she might die from nervousness before they even went out to train a little. She was so afraid he would think she was weak, the words of her father came back to her head at every moment and she closed to her eyes.

"Your weak Hinata", "Your stance is off", "Every other Hyuga has learned this advanced style long before you", "You disgrace me Hinata" her father's words echoed inside her again and again. She shook her head trying to get rid of them when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ok Hinata?" Naruto looked concerned for her.

And at once the voice of her father seemed to disappear to her and the storm in her heart and soul seemed to quiet. She felt a peace in her heart she had not felt for a long time, it was acceptance for who she was. And Hinata knew she while she may want to prove herself to this boy, her friend, he would accept her for who she was and he would never see her as weak.

_Naruto accepts people for who they are, even after being hated here he simply accepts them and see's the best, he'll never think I'm weak, I..I just know it._ Hinata thought to herself looked into his eyes, and in response to this revelation she promptly fainted out of her chair.

Naruto immediately began to fan Hinata and Iruka appeared beside him. He had seen what happened, and seen her faint before and simply smiled.

_So _this_ is why Naruto was so happy this morning, good._ He thought to himself.

He gave Hinata some water and she woke up. Her face was scarlet from blushing while apologizing rapidly before she was able to stand and at Iruka's suggestion all three left for to go to Ichiraku Ramen Bar on his treat. The two children smiled and followed talking to their sensei while Hinata's face was still scarlet.

**Uchiha Family Practice Field**

Sasuke was out at the practice field nearest his house attempting to hit 8 targets from all different angels at once when his older brother Itachi came by to get him. Itachi could see something bothered his younger brother as he missed three of the eight targets.

"Your aim is off little brother, what's wrong?"

Sasuke let out a mutter and sigh, "There's this new kid at school, Naruto, and everyone's staying away from him. All of the other kids parents, do you know why? They seem mad at him."

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of the name. He had been warned about Naruto Uzumaki and the danger he represented,

_Has Sasuke made friends with the nine-tails?_ He wondered.

"And what do you think of him?" he asked out-loud, keeping his private thoughts to himself.

"He's a bit of a Dobe but I don't see anything wrong with him, he's almost as good as me, usually comes in second but then again, he's not an Uchiha."

"Then I think you should make up your own mind little brother and if you see nothing wrong then go ahead and be friends with him." Itachi smiled at his brother who considered his words with a nod as they left the practice field to go home.

Sasuke thought about what his brother had said. His parents didn't seem to care about Naruto, in fact they seemed to have their thoughts on other things than the boy and if Sasuke became friends with him.

As Sasuske's thoughts began to reflect on his brothers words Itachi spoke again as if reflecting his own inner thoughts for his brother to take in.

"Our clan doesn't see battle the way other clans do little brother, oh we mourn our lost ones, but to use battle is part of our life. We see ourselves as warriors and to die in battle is considered glorious and expected of an Uchiha. Sometimes it makes us forget those we lost, our friends. If you find a friend little brother, stay with them, they will see you through many battles."

Itchahi normally didn't speak of such things to his brother and Sasuke thought on his brother's words greatly as they the two walked toward their home.

**Practice Field 19**

Naruto and Hinata had been training for nearly an hour and a half, it was somewhere past 3 o'clock in the afternoon and Hinata knew she would have to go soon. They had been started as Naruto usually did with meditation and then some light stretching before getting down to the real training.

Hinata had been so afraid Naruto thought she was weak but he had been patient as they tried different things from weapons training to chakra manipulation to see where they each were strongest and weakest. He had been amazed by her byakugan and how she could see his tenketsu or chakra points along his body.

When they had told Iruka-sensei they planned to train he had offered to help when he could and given them a measuring scroll to help them determine what levels they were at with each type of ability.

"Once you guys fill out this scroll I can come up with a training plan for you so you can get stronger. Normally we don't do this until later on but since you're so eager I'll go ahead and give it to you both." Iruka had told them with a smile.

They found that although Naruto was still rather new to weapons training they were about equal when it came to the use of weapons, that Hinata was a bit lower in the application of ninjutsu and taijutsu but higher in the area of genjutsu and must greater at chakra control. Otherwise they were very close to being equal.

Although most of the day had been spent practicing to see where each other's strengths were and they had little chance to actually talk they had a great time together! They ended their training with a short sparring match. Hinata's byakugan and gentle fist style against Naruto's more, untraditional moves, put them close to equal and they decided to continue sparring after each training session.

Finally Hinata knew she would have to go so she wouldn't chance on being late again to meet her father. "Um, N-naruto, I-I need to, um, leave. I-I'um, really, um, e-e-enjoyed t-t-rainning with you." She said bowing to him.

Naruto smiled and returned her bow, "I had a great time too! I'll take this scroll to Iruka-sensei so he can set up a schedule for us!"

Hinata took a deep breath hoping she wasn't about to ruin everything. "Um, N-naruto, m-my father, he, um, uh, he do-doesn't l-l-like you. Um, c-c-ould we maybe, um, keep t-this, a, um, secret?"

Naruto looked at her for a moment and her heart stopped. Then he smiled softly at her, "Of course Hinata, I'm not well liked here but I will one day, you can count on it! I am going to prove to everyone in the village who I am! One day, I am going to be Hokage! Does this time for you normally or should we pick another time?"

She shook her head, "No, th-this t-time works, um, fine."

_You'll make a great Hokage Naruto,_ she thought to herself

Naruto smiled again at her, _she's going against her father to be my friend? Wow, she's so awesome!_ The thought went through his head.

Hinata's shy smile returned his bright one and they agreed to continue to meet after class and train together in the practice fields further away from the village so no one would find out they were training together.

**Hyuga Complex**

Hinata was early, as usual, for her training with her father. He was sitting there waiting for her as normal. He rose and nodded to her as she stretched and prepared for the training.

Hiashi came at his daughter his byakugan activated and Hinata barely had time to activate her own byakugan before she dodged a vicious strike to her chest. She dodged another strike to her side and a roundhouse to her head. She wanted so much to fight back but found she could find no opening in her father's attack and defense.

Hiashi once again saw his daughter caught on the defensive, she was always on the defensive, how could she protect the clan if she was always on the defensive and avoiding confrontation?!

_Damn it Hinata, don't you understand, you have got to fight me! Damn it girl, stop being so weak! _Hiashi thought to himself.

Hinata continued to dodge as her father pressed her striking several chakra points. She was just too slow, she tried several times to attack but always to be pressed back and never to do more than make her father frown at her inability.

Finally after an hour of sparring, Hiashi tired of playing and simply knocked the girls legs from her and allowed her to fall to the mat.

"Hinata, you should be able to do more than dodge at this point. Are you so weak and unable to fight back? What is wrong with you?! Even your sister, a baby, is more aggressive than you are! Get up and go through all of the Juken styles as I watch."

Hinata did as her father instructed and went through the styles in front of him. He watched, she understood the concepts but her mind and body were simply too weak, she had no will to him, and he simply saw her as a shadow, and with each day he felt more disappointment in her.

**A Month Later**

It was Saturday morning and Naruto again woke up the sound of cooking in his apartment. He pulled himself out of bed and opened the door to find Kurenai standing there again making a load of rice, eggs, bacon, and toast. She smiled at Naruto and wished him good morning.

"I have something for you, Lord Jiraiya sent a message back to the Third Hokage with a letter for you." She nodded to a folded envelope on the table and Naruto quickly opened it and began to read:

_Hey Kid, Sorry I've been gone so long, I hope Kurenai and Iruka are taking care of you. I'm fine and hopefully be finishing with this mission soon and heading home hopefully. I can't say much about where I am incase this gets intercepted but you better be getting strong since when we head out again I'll be taking over your training, so get ready squirt! Oh and Ma and Pa told me to tell you they said hello. Be good and I might even bring you a surprise._

_Jiraiya_

Naruto put the letter down, it was short and more or less to the point. He would be glad to see his guardian again and happy to know he was ok. Kurenai placed a big plate of food in front of him and he promptly began to devour it. She sat down and her own share of the meal and before too long all of the food was gone and Naruto was washing the dishes.

Kurenai looked over his apartment and was pleased that the placed had slowly changed from what it had been when she had first seen it. It had been so barren when she had seen it before. Just a few pieces of furniture and white walls, a closet with a few sets of clothing in it, and a rather large amount of free space.

Now much of the closet was taken up by different ramen and weapons that Naruto had collected.

_Just like Naruto to keep his weapons and ramen in the same place_ she thought to herself.

The walls, which had once been barren, now had a few posters on them from their trip the zoo and others depicting the chakra system and places around Konoha. There were a few more pieces of furniture than before, a futon had been added and a weapons wrack to the wall as well a place to put the weights he had ordered from the weapons maker.

She had received his letter asking her about the weights for training and she had contacted the weapons maker about them and explained what she needed. She had even engraved the genjutsu on the weights herself to make sure they were exactly what Naruto could use and dropped them off on her way out of the village week ago. From the looks they had been worn quite a bit, she would have to advise him to weigh them at all times to get the true use out of them.

His bed was made and the bathroom clean, if not a bit too heavily decorated with frogs. She also noticed a rather strange lamp with the base on the form of a frog on a nightstand next to his bed. She smiled and was glad the boy was finally making this place his home, even if it was only for a short time more before Lord Jiraiya returned.

As she finished her inspection Naruto put away the last of the dishes and she nodded to him to go shower. She had decided it was time to take him somewhere that every child should go at least once in their lives at Konoha and they would all equally dread it, the Museum.

A few hours later the two of them were walking through Konoha's Museum. Naruto gazed at the ancient weapons and depictions of the early days of the village. There were pictures of ancient battles, the founders of the village and the history of the land. He read the screens before him explaining how the first hokage had founded the village along with the Uchiha clan and gathered other clans to his cause to bring peace and balance to their nation.

"Why did the first hokage give these chakra beasts away if they were so powerful?" he asked her as they entered the exibit on the Bijuu.

Kurenai knew she was taking a gamble that the boy might put things together in his own head but she knew that someone had to explain to him what the vessels of the bests really were so he would not believe himself a creature of evil.

_Someone has to explain to him what he is, even if he can't know the truth himself._ She thought firmly to herself.

"Well, you see in the history of the world there was originally one ten tailed beast created from the Chakra found in nature. The Safe of the Six Paths bound that creature inside him and when he died he created the nine chakra beasts. In the history of the world since then only a few very special shinobi have been born with the ability to control the chakra beasts.

"The first hokage was one of those born with such a gift. If he had kept them they would have been seen a great threat and possibly caused a war. So instead he infused certain vessels with these chakra beasts. That way our allies would have an equally strong warrior and would see Konoha as willing to give strength to them, to protect themselves and increasing their loyalty to Konoha as our allies. They were an offering to our allies to help them establish peace in their countries and strengthen our relations with them.

"Many of the vessels have been great warriors and are considered hero's of their people, they use their power to protect their villages and those precious to them. They were warriors with great strength and always used it to help bring peace to their lands. Understand Naruto?"

He nodded to her as she spoke but had already begun to stare at several large swords in another exhibit. Kurenai sighed, _I've never seen a shorter attention span_.

She smiled as he bought a map of the village from the gift shop and raised an eyebrow as he bought a small fox necklace as well. When she teased him asking if it was for him he blushed profusely and she laughed.

_So apparently Naruto has a new friend hmmm_ she thought to herself.

Naruto and Kurenai then visited the weapons maker again to check on some things they had ordered and proceeded back his apartment where they ate dinner and she finally departed.

Naruto lay in his bed later thinking about what she had said to him on the Bijuu and the jinchūriki.

_The vessels use their power to help people and protect them_ he thought as he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Full of Life

Dislcaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Hey guys, thank you for the support! I have a lot of things in store and I think you will be surprised with some of the changes that are going to come from the base set here in the initial start I am sure you all will enjoy! Please keep the reviews coming, there is one idea in particular I saw in a review I think people will enjoy when Naruto comes home next time. Oh and I am working to make the flow and grammar better. Thanks again!

**Over the next few weeks…**

Naruto and Hinata had been training for nearly two months together under the guidance of the exercise plan provided by Iruka-sensei. Iruka had provided them with a basic training regimen that would start with Chakra control, basic jutsu practice, weapons training, cardio and muscular development, and ended with sparring sessions. Their training was sometimes a bit erratic due to Hinata having to avoid her father from finding out they were training together.

The truth was, while it was nice for Naruto to have someone to train with, he was happy to have a friend. Hinata still stuttered a lot around Naruto but she had mostly stopped fainting around him so long as he didn't catch her by surprise. The two had begun to talk more about the village and their lives.

Naruto learned that Hinata was the heiress to the Hygua clan's leadership and she had a younger sister name Hanabi who was only a year old. She didn't speak of her father much normally, although Naruto got the feeling it was a touchy subject, so they instead concentrated on other topics. Naruto told her about growing up with the frog sage's and traveling. He explained how they had moved so much and that this was the first time he had been somewhere for more than a few months.

"We always were moving around, Sagie never wanted to stay in one place too long. He always brought home these weird 'research assistants'. They were annoying and I never liked them." Naruto made a face at the thought of his guardian's 'research assistants'.

"But everywhere we went the people were nice and helpful. Everywhere had different ideas and customs and things and sometimes we would get in trouble cause of Sagie doing research for his books. Sagie told me about Konoha a lot, he would tell me stories of the Hokage's and the great shinobi that had protected and died for the village."

In exchange for him telling her about life outside the village Hinata told Naruto about growing up in the Hyuga Clan and the village. She explained to him the formalities surrounding the clan and what everyone did and thought and how they acted and what it was like growing up in the big family.

Naruto had thought about having a family but never thought about having a clan before or what it would be like. He was so used to being alone and independent. The idea of having a huge family around all the time, living close together, they were things he had always wanted but never understood. He always wondered what it would be like to have cousins and aunts and uncles. Listening to Hinata describe her family and clan, how they had formal meetings and were led by the elders but also the dances and the dinners.

Hearing about the Hyuga clan both inspired Naruto and made him a bit sad.

_I wish I had a family like that, maybe one day I will_ he thought to himself.

There was one thing Hinata told him about he simply did not understand though. Table manners simply were too much of a curve for Naruto to completely make it into his head.

"Wait Hinata, you have to eat with specific forks for specific foods?" He asked again,

Hinata giggled, "Y-yes, you um, you have to use a s-salad fork f-for the salad and, um there is a specific c-chop-stick for, um, the meat and one for the, uh, rice and then you can only use a s-specific s -spoon for d-desert and, um, one knife for bread and, the uh, other for cutting." Hinata giggled again and Naruto's confusion over the dinning utensils.

Naruto didn't think he'd ever understand, if it wasn't instant ramen he really didn't know why people ate it on a regular basis. And the concept of using different utensils for different food items was just simply a foreign concept for him.

Hinata and Naruto had found something they needed very much in each other's lives, friendship. Naruto had been isolated from everyone for so long with only a few adults in his life but Hinata, he could talk to her about normal stuff that young kids want to talk about. And in Naruto Hinata had found a person who saw her for who she was and didn't think her weak. In short, they had found each other when they truly needed a friend more than anything in the world.

**The Academy a few weeks later**

It was a few weeks later when Sasuke was sitting at his usual spot in the classroom, he was first to class, like always. He had thought about what his brother had told him.

_Make up my own mind about Naruto huh? _Sasuke had decided to do just that.

Sasuke had followed what the others had done up to that point, just having his normal hello conversation with Naruto and then more or less ignoring him the rest of the time. But he had decided to follow his brother's advice, the kid was pretty good in class so he figured he might be a decent sparring partner to beat up, if nothing else.

Naruto arrived that morning and sat down next to Sasuke who nodded to him, "How's it going Naruto?"

"Pretty good, I hope we get out early." Naruto responded.

Sasuke nodded his agreement before continuing, "So I was thinking, if you wanted, some time, I could help you with your kunai training, your horrible at it Dobe."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke like he had just grown a second head and nodded quickly that he would truly appreciate the help from the Uchiha. They then began to discuss the differences in Kunai knife designs and how longer blades and different weights tended to make the knives more or less difficult to handle but would do more damage in response to the changes.

It was the first conversation they had had which they truly enjoyed. It wasn't an immediate friendship but it was the start of one.

The class that day seemed to pass rather quickly for Naruto as he listened to Iruka-sensei drone on and on about genjutsu and how to break through low level genjutsu with a short burst of Chakra to the eyes, ears or nose. Once one of the senses had detected that the genjutsu wasn't real and recognized reality they rest would follow breaking the genjutsu.

It was after class that Iruka called Naruto down while everyone else was leaving.

"Hey Naruto, I have a message from Lord Jiraiya for you! I hope it's good news." He said smiling while he handed Naruto the message.

_Hey Kid, I wanted to let you know I've finished my mission and I'm on my way home! I should be there in a couple months, I have to stop and do some more research along the way after all. But I'll be back soon so get ready! _

_See you soon!_

_Jiraiya_

Like his other messages Jiraiya's letter was short but this was such good news Naruto yelped and jumped in the air.

"Sagie's coming home! YAY!" He was so happy he couldn't believe it, it had been almost a year since Jiraiya had left and he couldn't wait to show him how much stronger he had gotten! And his guardian had promised to train him! He couldn't wait to see what kind of training he would be put through by Jiraiya.

Over the next few weeks Naruto began to become friends with Sasuke, they had begun to train together later in the day, after Naruto's training with Hinata and it was really surprising how intense the boy trained.

_Damn, this is why he's always number one, he just doesn't stop!_ Naruto thought as he dodged another kunai knife and through 8 in return trying to hit all eight targets.

Naruto had learned Sasuke trained every day after school and before school for hours. He understood now why the boy was so good in class, he simply never stopped training! The two would discuss strategies and tactics and different jutsu moves. The kinds of things friends normally would and Sasuke found he actually enjoyed talking to Naruto. Naruto had an understand of jutsu and chakra similar to Sasuke's because of his time and explanations by Jiraiya and the frog sage's.

Naruto had managed to hit 6 of the eight so far, he knew Sasuke could hit all eight but wasn't very accurate with them. Each target was placed in a different location for a different angel around the training field. Several of the targets were hidden and the boys would take turns moving the target for each other while the other one wasn't watching. Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, had come out one time and offered a bit of advice before disappearing.

Something about Itachi bothered Naruto, although he didn't bring it up to Sasuke.

The exercise had truly helped Naruto gain a better sense of his surroundings and control over his kunai and throwing star ability. Sasuke had also told Naruto about his older brother, Itachi, who was the ANBU Captain and the genius of the Uchiha clan.

"Itachi's always been the best, graduated from the academy in a single year when he was 8 and made ANBU Captain by 13, he's the pride of our clan." Sasuke told him.

Naruto could recognize that there was a bit of jealousy and some bitterness in his voice. Naruto wished he could understand more but all he could do was thank Sasuke for all of the help he was giving him to which Sasuke would usually shrug and they'd just keep training.

**Shortly before ****Jiraiya****'s Return**

Naruto was on his own for the day, it was Saturday and he knew his guardian would be coming back soon. Hinata was busy with her father and something with the Hyuga clan for the day and Sasuke was with his brother for some reason. So Naruto was left to his own devices.

He was on the practice field setting up several dummies for kunai practice. He had figured out a good way to find if he was striking the right mark the dummies was to place small balloons with paint inside under the spots where vital organs were supposed to be, if his strike was true the paint would burst, if not then it would either leak or nothing would come out.

As he was doing this he heard a voice from the background, "You know, there's a better way to use that paint."

Naruto immediately jumped around pulling a kunai knife from his pouch and entering a ready stance. He lowered the weapon as a young woman entered the clearing of his training field.

Hey hair was dark and tied into a bushy braid behind her, it was also short and a bit spiky. She wore an overcoat with tan shorts and a black shirt with fishnet mail leggings under her shorts going down her legs. Her face had a grin on it as she walked into the clearing. She looked around at the target dummies and the many paint balloons Naruto had already made.

"You know, there are a lot more interesting things to do with those paint balloons and than use them for training right?"

Naruto shook his head, "Uh, what ya talking about?"

"Those paint balloons would look so much better on dropped on some villagers I happen to know of. How about it kid? You've been in town for a while now and haven't pulled even one prank on these stuck up villagers, want to get back at them a bit?!"

Naruto saw the gleam in her eye and thought about it for a moment.

_A prank? I've never pulled a prank before, it might be fun_ Naruto thought to himself and grinned back at the woman.

"Wait a sec lady, who are you? And why were you watching me?"

"Names Anko, Anko Mitarashi kid. And I've been watching you for a while, seemed like an interesting kid. Your guardian is one of the legendary three, Jiraiya, you showed up outa no where, and you have a striking resemblance to someone I once knew. That makes you interesting and somewhat entertaining to me. So how about we go paint some villagers? It'll be fun and teach them to ignore you right!?"

Naruto grinned at her, part of him knew this was wrong, part of him was yelling at this would end badly, hell, part of him was even saying he had just met this woman and had no clue what she had planned. But another part of Naruto was not just say yes, but screaming _HELL YES!_

Naruto had wanted to do something in response to the anger for so long, he'd accepted it but that didn't mean he had forgiven all of the anger and harsh glares and curses. And against the better judgment he collected as many paint balloons as he could carry and followed Anko into the heart of the village.

The two sat on top of a tall building near the Hokage tower when Anko threw the first paint ball. Naruto followed up seeing a women that had repeatedly glared and cursed him that week. Soon she was covered in blue and screaming. Naruto had prepared three different colored paint balls, Red for vital spots, Blue for nerve points, and green for non-vital or nerve point spots.

It wasn't long before there were screams from the villagers as red, blue, and green paint balloons began to rain down on them from the skies as Anko and Naruto ran from building to building throwing the balloons at people. Anko didn't particularly care who she hit but Naruto made sure to aim for particularly mean people to him.

"DAMN IT ANKO!" "NARUTO!!!" "SOMEONE STOP THEM!" "WHO LET THOSE TWO NEAR EACH OTHER!?" Screams of anger roared from the village as the two ran for their lives. Red, Green, and Blue villagers charged after them but apparently Anko was used to this because she directed Naruto to a quick escape route through a vacant apartment building and back to the practice field.

Anko was laughing so hard she couldn't control it. Naruto was grinning from ear to ear like the fox he carried inside him.

"Nice job kid, not too shabby for a first time prankster! We'll have to get together again soon and hit some more pranks. That's how you put those stuck up villagers in place right?!"

They high fived and broke into more laughter describing to each other the different color patterns they had managed on particular villagers. They were laughing so hard they didn't notice a particular new individual arriving on the scene.

"Mind if I ask whats so funny?" Kakashi asked as he saw the two of them.

Anko and Naruto jumped up after hearing the voice. They also saw the Kurenai and Iruka were there. None of them looked very amused. Kurenai and Iruka quickly took Naruto and headed off toward the Academy to talk to him while Kakashi stood there with Anko.

"What do you think you're doing Anko?" He asked her in a quiet voice.

"Relax Kakashi, we were just having a bit of fun, you know, HA. HA. HA. Fun? Bah, you never have fun, you ANBU types are always so serious." She said making a face at him. "Why do you care? I've been watching the kid for months now. Was pretty boring at first until I noticed the girl watching him too. Then things got to be interesting."

There was a knowing grin on her face with a slight gleam to her eyes. Kakashi was leaning against a tree. He had on his usual bored expression as he looked Anko. His lone visible eye seemed bored but also looked past her statements.

"You shouldn't be teaching him bad habits Anko. He has enough trouble with the villagers without you showing him how to play pranks on them and making them dislike him more."

"Who are you? His father? I don't think so Kakashi. I know how that kid feels, after Orochimaru deserted and having everyone watching my every move and wonder if I was a traitor, it's worse for that kid. He deserves to get some pay back for it. Mothering Kurenai and Big brother Iruka can't do that for him and you, you don't even talk to the boy, so why do you get a say huh?"

Anko's words struck several true notes, they were helping but she had managed to make _Mothering_ and _Big Brother_ sound more like insults than terms of endearment. She also did understand on some level what Naruto was going through. Although she had been older thankfully, Anko had been the student of Orochimaru, one of the three legendary shinobi of Konoha. He had betrayed the village, found to be practicing forbidden jutsu, and was one of the greatest shames of the village.

Anko had taken the wrath of the village then, they thought she was just like her sensei, a traitor. She had been watched and glared at for a crime she hadn't committed but merely been associated with, much like Naruto. However she had reacted with pranks and been old enough to prove herself on missions and the situation had worn itself away over a shorter time period.

Kakashi felt angry at himself for allowing this to happen. He had been called in along with Iruka and Kurenai when the two had been identified. The Lord Third was concerned that Naruto might be influenced by Anko and she might be acting to promote some plan of Orochimaru's.

_She does have a point, Naruto needs an outlet against the village. But it needs to be a constructive outlet. Maybe I could have helped more if I hadn't stayed away, did I make a mistake?_ Kakashi thought to himself.

"You're right, he does need an outlet. But throwing paint balloons and playing pranks won't work. The village hates him for who he is and he's only going to cement that anger if he commits acts like this. I may not have the power to order you to stay away from him but know, I am watching. Lord Jiraiya will be home soon and he'll take Naruto away again for a while, when he comes back maybe you and he can do something more… constructive together."

Anko laughed at the veiled threat by Kakashi. She wasn't afraid of the man, although she respected his ability.

"Kakshi Hatake, the copy ninja. I know who his father is as well Kakashi, most of the village hasn't put two and two together but I have. I remember Minato as much as you do. Too bad he picked that witch Kushina. But that child, his son, should have his chance for some vengeance and a little prank or two won't hurt the village. Minato wouldn't want his son to be brought up as some training robot, he was full of life and so should Naruto be. Maybe you need to take more active approach and help him throw some paint balloons rather than threatening the people who are."

Kakashi glared at her making his point, "If you hurt that boy, I will be there to stop you."

"And I'll be there if you ever want to throw some paint Kakashi."

Anko laughed again as Kakashi left the scene. Anko did indeed know that Naruto was the son of Minator, the fourth hokage. She understood the boy, she felt, better than most and wanted to help him. Undeterred by the presence and more than veiled threat of Kakashi she laughed and disappeared to plan some future pranks for when the kid got back.

**At the Academy**

"Naruto, do you want to explain what happened?" Iruka-sensei asked him.

Iruke and Kerunai had been summoned to the Third Hokage along with Kakashi when it was determined that Naruto and Anko were the ones dousing the village with paint.

**Flashback**

The third hokage took a puff of his signature pipe and looked at the three people in front of him. He had just received a report telling him that Naruto Uzumaki and Anko Mitarashi were throwing paint balloons on villagers, and from the looks of it, they had a large number of them.

"Apparently Anko has found her way to Naruto, not too surprising." He let out a short laugh, "The two of them are getting into some trouble right now throwing paint balloons on as many villagers as they can. I saw one or two of them, rather good work actually.

"Anko was once Orochimaru's student. If it was a simple prank by Naruto on his own I could see to ignoring it, hell, I'd probably laugh at it myself, but we can't be sure Anko isn't acting under some jutsu of Orochimaru's. There are many jutsu which he could have placed into her mind when she was his student. Then of course there is the fact that Naruto has enough issues with the village right now, he doesn't need to compound the anger already existing."

Iruka looked at the Lord Third before speaking the question he knew they all were wondering.

"What would you like us to do about it sir?"

"Simple, talk to Anko and explain that if she is going to interact with Naruto to make it more… constructive interaction. If I know her though, she'll ignore it. But also speak with Naruto and explain to him that the consequences of his actions. Jiraiya will be back in a week or two and he is planning on leaving again with Naruto shortly afterward. Just trying and keep them from getting into too much trouble please."

The third Hokage smiled as they left. Truth be told, he didn't care that the villagers had gotten splattered with paint and he didn't truly believe that Anko was under the influence of Orochimaru, he had made sure to check her thoroughly himself before allowing her to resume active duty with Konoha. But there was no point taking chances when it had to deal with the nine-tailed fox and Minato's son.

**End Flashback**

Naruto nodded to the two adults. He had disappointed them and he knew it. Kurenai and Iruka were the two people Naruto would do anything to not disappoint in the world, well, aside from Jiraiya.

"I dunno, I guess I wanted a bit of payback. Their always angry with me, glaring and cursing, and, well, Anko said no one would get hurt and I could get them back for that. I thought it sounded like fun." Naruto said as his hands went behind his head.

Kurenai spoke next, "No one was hurt thankfully, but Naruto, you have to understand that acts like this are just going to make people angry at you and make things worse. You don't want to ruin all the hard work you've done so far because of one jaunt to throw some balloon's right?"

Naruto shook his head. He hadn't thought of that before. He wasn't sure what to say, it had been a lot of fun and felt good to get some payback on the village for their actions towards him.

"I understand you might want some revenge for the way they've treated you Naruto," Iruka told him, "But, honestly, do you want to let your revenge possibly hurt people? It's a dangerous path to follow. You shouldn't just forgive them, but prove them wrong the way you have been, with hard work. Earn the respect like you always say you will." He smiled at his student and Kurenai joined in.

They weren't mad and they understood but they also wanted him to understand the lesson from the day.

**That Night**

Naruto heard someone peck at his window. He opened it to find Anko standing outside, "Hey kid, sorry about thelecture you probably got today."

Naruto was a bit subdued and remained quiet, she grinned at him.

"Well, next time, we just will have to be trickier and not get caught huh?"

She grinned at him and saw his lips move into a slight grin back. She winked and disappeared into the night.

Far off from sight Kakashi saw and heard the exchange. Kakashi sighed to himself, _Well, he is Minato's son, I guess I should have expected him to be a bit of a prankster, just like his dad._


	8. GoodByes

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction

Authors Note: Hey guys, thanks for some of the ideas, particularly about training needed for Naruto. Please keep the reviews coming, I have some really good stuff coming in for the next chapter, so keep reading and let me know what you think! Thanks for the support so far and I hope you enjoy! More to come very soon!

**Chapter 8: Good-Byes**

**Outside the Gate a week later**

Jiraiya took a breath of air as he walked through the gateway and entered Konoha for the first time in nearly as year. He smiled at the crowds. It always felt good to come home after being gone for so long. He set his sights on the Hokage tower and proceeded to head straight there.

_Report to the Hokage first and then pick up Naruto at the Academy._ He thought to himself. He had been surprised by how much he'd missed the little kid. _He'll be closing in on six years old now_ he thought.

Jiraiya had missed Naruto's constant presence more than he expected while he had been away. He had gotten used to the kid in his daily life and not having him there had made things feel rather too quiet. Jiraiya had always been a more solitary person and enjoyed his travels greatly, but now he had adjusted to having the kid around and become accustomed to his constant presence.

It wasn't long before Jiraiya was standing before Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. The Hokage had his pipe in his mouth with a small amount of smoke coming from it. He wore his formal Hokage robes minus his hat as he stared at his student. His fingers were interlaced before him as he leaned his elbows on the large desk in front of him. Jiraiya was giving a brief report to his sensei on the activities he had discovered.

"Well, from what I found the group calls itself the Akatsuki, they wear black cloaks with a red cloud pattern on them. They are comprised of a handful of S-ranked rogue shinobi criminals, my guess would be no more than five members right now, perhaps as few as three. Not many right now and they haven't done anything but they are having dealings with Orochimaru, I wasn't able to determine for certain, but I believe he may be a member of the organization.

"Also, they had taken a deep interest in the Jinchuriki hosts, not just Naruto but all of them. They seem to want them for some reason and have been particularly researching how to seal or unseal them. I am not sure what purpose they would use that information for but if they were able to somehow harness the kind of power available from all nine of the beasts it would monsterous! I have my contacts listening for more information on their movements.

"I wasn't able to catch up with any of their members directly, I think someone tipped them off that I was on their trail and they kept avoiding me. They're well organized and very good, I have more detailed information in the folder here. They are highly dangerous and should probably be watched closely.

"Oh, and on another note it appears the rumor I initially heard is turning how to be true. There is someone recruiting to found a new shinobi village called the Village Hidden in the Sound. I didn't find anyone from the village directly but I did manage to make contact with several shinobi who had been approached and sought as possible recruits. They only said that the recruiters had wanted them to join their new village but gave little as to the location or purpose of the village."

Jiraiya finished his brief report to the Hokage and laid down a thick folder filled with much more detailed information on the subjects of Orochimaru, the Akatsuki, and the sound village. The third hokage had listened intently to his students report nodding at times. He picked up the folder and began to go through its contents.

"What are your plans now that your back?" The hokage asked.

"Well, I was going to take a short break and then probably head out in a few days with Naruto to start training the boy. With this new information that the Akatsuki are interested in the Jinchuriki hosts I think it's best if I took over his training from the academy personally. While I had thought about staying for a while and letting him learn at the academy I believe he's going to need more rigorous training to prepare him if they decide to come after him. Besides, I figure he's probably about ready for me to take him under my thumb anyway. How has the kid been?"

The third hokage explained the reports he had gotten that Naruto was very intelligent, sharp, had an incredible amount of stamina and chakra and impressive healing ability, most likely because of the nine-tails inside him, and while perhaps not as natural a talent as others that had been seen, he showed a lot of promise. The third hokage explained the instance with Anko and also how Iruka and Kurenai had been taking care of the boy when they could.

At the thought of his godson throwing paint balloons on the villagers Jiraiya threw back his head and laughed.

"HAHAHAHAHA!! HO HO! That's great! How many did he manage to hit?" Jiraiya had fallen down on the floor with laughter at the thought of Naruto tossing paint balloons on Hiashi Hyuga.

With a slight cough to regain his former pupils attention the third hokage continued to explain how he had requested Anko to provide more, constructive, means of interacting with Naruto. Jiraiya just grinned at him. He understood the reason for wanting Naruto to avoid thoughts of avenge but he still thought the entire event was hilarious.

_That's Minato's kid for sure, pulling pranks already. I guess I'll have to keep on my toes incase he decides to try something on me from now on._ Jiraiya thought to himself.

After getting a report that Naruto was ok and doing well and answering any questions the Hokage may have had for him Jiraiya took his leave of the tower and headed toward the academy. He figured Naruto should be getting out soon and would want something for lunch. He grinned at the thought of seeing his charge again soon.

As Jiraiya neared the academy he immediately noticed a distinct lack of students.

"Hey Iruka, where's Naruto?" Jiraiya yelled at the younger man who was leaving the academy.

"Lord Jiraiya, it's good to see you sir and welcome back! Naruto should be on practice field 39-B. That's where he usually goes to train after class." Iruka told him with a smile.

"Ha! Training huh? Good to hear! I knew you'd be a good influence on him, I'll head on over and see him right now!" Jiraiya said completely ignoring the Iruka's attempts to stop him when he realized he would discover Hinata and Naruto together.

Iruka simply stood there with his mouth open as he watched Lord Jiraiya walking away.

_Well… I guess he'd find out sooner or later anyway… _ Iruka thought himself as he shrugged in defeat. _Guess I now know where Naruto got his ability to be completely oblivious to people warning him from doing something as well_ Iruka thought with a chuckle.

The first thing Jiraiya noticed was the distinct sound of more than one person in the clearing. He crept up cautiously up and hide himself carefully he watched he saw something he never expected. Naruto was sparring Hinata Hyuga!

_Hiashi's daughter is training with Naruto?! HAHAHAHAHA, Now that's got to be the greatest irony ever to exist in the modern world. No wonder they come all the way out here, they must avoiding Hiashi from finding out._

Jiraiya stood by and watched the two youngsters sparring. He definitely needed to take Naruto and teach him more about evasive maneuvers, he was taking too many of those hits to the body. He also saw immediately that Hinata was using the usual Juken maneuvers but they seemed to be very awkward for her, he began to wonder if they adjusted things a bit, perhaps placed in a few of the Bajiquan style maneuvers if she wouldn't be much better off.

After the two had tired themselves out for a break Jiraiya decided it was time to come out of hiding and walked out clapping. "BRAVO! BRAVO!"

Hinata's face went the deepest shade of red ever seen on a person in the history of the world as Jiraiya entered the clearing for the practice field they used. Practice Field 39-B worked well for Naruto and Hinata, it was far from the village and surrounded by tree's so it was difficult for people to find or see and most people saw it as too much work to actually visit it with the other practice fields so much easier to access.

Naruto however, upon seeing the return of his guardian did exactly what you'd expect a young child to do, he jumped up in a yelp of joy and hugged the older man causing Jiraiya to blush almost as deeply as Hinata, although his might have been from lack of oxygen as much as the show of affection.

"So kid, been a while, good to see you've been getting stronger huh?" He smiled at his charge. "And who would this pretty little thing be huh?" He grinned Hinata.

For some reason his guardian calling Hinata a "pretty little thing" bothered Naruto some and he moved closer to the girl.

_So, the kid has a bit of a crush on the Hyuga girl, this will be very interesting a few years, she seems to feel the same too, HA! If fate has irony it certainly is working overtime on these too!_ Jiraiya thought to himself.

"This is Hinata Hyuga Sagie. We've been training together." Naruto said and he began to answer questions his guardian had as to the extent and depth of the training. Jiraiya also asked Hinata a few questions but seeing as the girl stuttered so much he gave up quickly and kept it with Naruto.

After a few minutes Jiraiya was happy to see his charge had been working hard and he thought he might even be ready to attempt a few summoning jutsu's with the frogs. Smiling Jiraiya offered to take them both for some food which Hinata politely had to refuse so no one would see her with Naruto and Jiraiya.

Jiraiya nodded to her before talking, "I know Hiashi wouldn't be very happy if he found out you and Naruto had been spending time together. Naruto's going to be leaving with me again in a day or two though."

Hinata looked down at the ground as if she was ready to cry, she felt like her friend was being taken away only after just finding him! With a frown Jiraiya noticed the girl's plight and figured life with Hiashi as a father probably wasn't a bed of roses, even if you were his heir. Then he suddenly smiled at the two as he had a crazy idea.

_ I get to help Naruto with his pretty lady friend AND stick it to the Hiashi in one go with this one. HO HO this will be rich!_ He thought to himself as he pulled off the large scroll from his back.

With a bite to his thumb to draw a bit of blood Jiraiya placed his hand on the seal saying, "Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!" After a puff of smoke a small frog appeared. The frog wasn't very large, perhaps weighing 10 or 15 pounds, he had goggles around his forehead and his body was a mixture of browns and greens allowing him to blend into the surroundings extremely well.

"What ya need Jiraiya?" The frog said with what might be considered as a very city accent for such a country frog.

"I have a job for ya, this girl here and my charge are going to be away from each other, I want you to carry messages and letters between the two while we're away, go it?"

"Hai! Sure, no problem, so long as I get fed and everything!"

"Oh and one other thing, make sure you don't get found by her father either, got it? He's a Byakugan user so you'll have to be on your toes." Jiraiya said as a final thought on the matter crossed his mind.

"Not a problem boss, I've got the most advance hiding technology and skills in the business!" The frog promptly changed the shades of color on his skin to be almost invisible and then pulling a box out of nowhere to hide under it. Jiraiya sighed and hoped the frog would be a bit smarter than to hide under a box if Hiashi was around.

Jiraiya turned back to the girl as the frog hopped over to her, "This is Gabanta, he's a messenger frog. While we're away you can send letters to Naruto and he'll be able to write back and Gabanta will carry them. He has a particular expertise of not being found so even your father shouldn't be able to find him. Just hand him the letter and he'll bring it to Naruto k?"

Hinata smiled, looking much happier and nodded and thanked Jiraiya profuously, although it came out as more stutter than anything. Jiraiya smiled and patted her on the head. Then with an impulsive good-bye to Naruto she hugged him tightly. Naruto returned her hug, feeling a flip in the bottom of his heart and hoping she would be ok.

"Be safe Hinata," Naruto whispered in her ear.

"Y-you t-t-too N-Naruto, c-come b-b-a-ack s-sooon, k?" Hinata whispered back before she broke the embrace.

Her head was so red Jiraiya was worried she might faint but she managed to bow and thank them before running away toward her home, with Gabanta following closely behind.

"Well kid, lets head back to your apartment, we'll stay here until day after tomorrow and then head on out back out in the wide world to start your training!"

**The Morning Two Days Later**

Naruto followed Jiraiya as they reached the gate that would lead to the outside world. He was excited and happy to be Jiraiya again but also a bit sad to leave everything behind. They had had a good-bye party the night before where Iruka, Kurenai, Jiraiya, Naruto, the lord third, and the strange silver haired shinobi, Kakashi, had shown up to say good-bye.

Naruto had seen Sasuke the last day he was in class and told him he would be leaving. Their good-bye had been short as they hadn't really had time to become good friends, but he was closer to a friend that anyone else Sasuke had so far in his life, other than perhaps his brother and a few cousins his age.

**Flashback**

The class was over and the two boys were leaving the room under the watchful of Iruka.

"Sagie and I are leaving again, I am not sure when I'll be back. Keep training though, I don't want to win too easy when I get back!" Naruto told Sasuke as they were leaving class.

Sasuke wasn't sure what to say, but being he was a Uchiha he just went with the bored expression.

Sasuke snorted, "Yeah, in your dreams dobe. Just make sure you can keep up when you get back. Keep safe Naruto." They had exchanged a handshake and went their separate ways.

**End Flashback**

The adults told Naruto the apartment would be waiting for him when he came back and was his home now so he could send things home for it from his travels. Naruto hadn't known what to say he was so happy. He had never had a place he could call home, and for the first time he felt he did have a place.

They each had given him a small gift. Iruka had given him a pair of black leather shinobi gloves without finger tips. Kurenai had given him some more advance weights for his training with Jiraiya. And the lord third handed something to Jiraiya he said was for Naruto when he felt he was ready. Naruto puzzled at it but was only told it was a gift for him when his guardian felt he was prepared for it.

Naruto had looked around at the people around him and hugged them each as they left, even the old man, as Naruto had come to call the third hokage, got his hug before he left. They had each given him some advice too before he left.

**Flashback**

The three had come up to him at different times and in different manners.

Kurenai had smiled at him and given him a hug and looked at him in the eye before reminding him to, "Make sure to eat something other than ramen and remember to watch for genjutsu" She then smiled at him again reminding him to be good and hugging him one last time.

"Be good and I'll be expecting you to be first in your class when you get back k?" Iruka had told him. He always made sure to remind him of school and ruffled Naruto's hair like an older brother would.

But the third hokage had left him the most cryptic message. He had looked at Naruto with a rather serious expression on his old and lined face, "Naruto, my boy, you have a great journey ahead of you, we'll be waiting for you to come back strong. I know you want to be Hokage someday, sometimes, to achieve your goal, you have to take the hard path, don't waiver when things are dark or hard. I have faith in you, and when times are hard, you'll show every villager your strength, its inside you and in your blood." Naruto wasn't sure what the Lord Third had been talking about, after all, Jiraiya would take care of anything right? So he had shrugged and hugged the old man and promised never to take the easy path.

**End Flashback**

Naruto was a bit sad as he turned to look at the mountain one last time before they left the gate. He had come to enjoy his time in Konoha, even though he knew he was coming back he did have one thing on his mind.

_I kind of wish I could have seen Hinata one last time_, Naruto thought to himself.

He was glad that they would be able to write letters but he knew he was going to miss talking to her, she was a quiet girl and she stuttered and fainted a lot but she was his friend and he truly enjoyed her company.

"Hey kid, you ready to start training?" Jiraiya said as he broke into his charges thoughts.

"Yes Sir!" Naruto responded with a small salute.

"Ok then, you'll train while we walk." Jiraiya told him and jumped up to a tree and snatched a leaf.

"Right now your biggest weakness is your Chakra control. You need to get better so watch the leaf." Jiraiya told him.

Naruto turned his attention to the leaf lay in Jiraiya's palm and, as Naruto watched, Jiraiya concentrated his Chakra into his palm and the leaf began to rise and slowly rotate in a circle, it quickly gained speed until it was moving so fast Naruto couldn't see which side had been the front and back. Before much longer Jiraiya allowed the leaf the slow and settle back into his palm.

"Ok kid, the way this works is you concentrate all your Chakra into the palm of your hand and around the leaf to life it up. After you have it lifted up you need to contain the Chakra in the palm and slowly rotate it around like I did, understand?"

Naruto nodded very excitedly as he took the leaf in his hand. He concentrated his Chakra into the palm of his hand and found it was difficult to lift the leaf alone, the Chakra kept spilling out of his hand and the leaf wouldn't rise more than an inch.

"You see how your chakra is losing cohesion after just a short distance? That's how you learn to control it more thoroughly. You're losing a lot of chakra because of your lack of focus in it. Once you can focus all of your chakra on the leaf you'll find that you don't need nearly as much to life it. So first you have to be able to keep the leaf aloft and then once you can do that you'll be able to start to rotate it, so focus on that as we walk ok?"

Naruto nodded, his blue eyes never leaving the leaf, not even realizing that the leaf in his palm was an almost perfect replica for the symbol of the village he hoped to return too soon.

Authors Note: Oh and for those curious I did some research, the Juken style is based off a real martial art style called Baguazhang, the 8 trigrams Palm, the style I mention I think might work for Hinata in the story is another style similar called Bajiquan, eight extreme fists, which is actually older than the Baguazhang. Just thought you all might find that kind of interesting.


	9. Three Years of Training

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: Hey guys, wanted to particularly thank KonIsMyName for pointing out that I was intermixing toads and frogs, I went back and fixed that in my main copy and will change it in the prior chapters soon. But from here on out we'll only be having summoned toads! Thanks for the reviews and I am glad you all have enjoyed the story this far, as promised some big events are going to happen so I hope you enjoy them as well! Please keep the reviews and thoughts coming!

Chapter Nine: Three's years later of training

**The Following Three Years**

The next three years passed quickly for Naruto as he trained under the tutelage of master Jiraiya. Naruto quickly learned that his guardian was not nearly as kind or as easy going about training as Iruka-sensei had been. But he also learned far more and gained a much more in-depth knowledge of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu than he had ever thought possible.

Whenever Naruto was tired or having trouble, struggling to continue from exhaustion or frustration, Jiraiya was always there to motivate him. He always seemed to know what to say, even if it wasn't necessarily the nicest thing. "Naruto, you can do this, I know you can!" His guardian would tell him. "I wouldn't push you so hard if I didn't believe in you," he would respond to his struggles.

And at the worst times, when he felt he simply couldn't go on, he would remind him of Iruka… of Kurenai… and Hinata, "When the time comes will you be able to protect them Naruto? If you give up now you won't be strong enough to protect yourself let alone them. Do not give up for their sakes, one day you will be thankful for the hardships endured now. Now get up kid!" Jiraiya would tell him, and the images of the people he held precious in his life would flash before him and he would find the strength to stand.

Jiraiya had started Naruto small, primarily working on focusing in chakra and learning to harness it, to tighten the streams within his body so that less chakra would escape when he used it and it wouldn't show up as easily to an enemy.

"Let me explain something to you Naruto," Jiraiya told him one day while they were walking toward the next village. "You see there are several kekkei genkai, or bloodline traits, a jutsu trait which is passed on in a particular genetic bloodline, such as the Sharingan, which allow the wielder to see chakra in a person. In fact, over time, you can develop the ability to sense a person's chakra and use it to detect that person. By learning tight control over your chakra system you'll be able to repress the system itself, and hide from those people, giving you a very big advantage in combat."

Nearly every day after leaving Konoha was dedicated to training. Jiraiya seemed almost entirely focused on preparing Naruto and he wouldn't stop until Naruto was completely ready. He had Naruto wear his weights every day and even to bed and would increase the weight usually once every other month, as soon as Naruto had begun to get used to them Jiraiya would increase the genjutsu on them. Naruto learned to love and hate those weights. He sparred with Naruto every evening and taught him jutsu in the afternoons while he left the morning for meditation on the chakra system.

It always seemed he had some new trick or idea planned for Naruto that Naruto could never anticipate or expect. Anything from walking on water using leaves as his stones, forcing Naruto to transfer chakra to the leaf rather than his feet, to having Naruto climb rocks without the use of an arm or leg.

Many times he would use their surroundings to help Naruto understand the more difficult concepts and if he couldn't find a way he would often summon Ma and Pa to help. Such as when he had to explain how each shinobi had a particular element they would be more adept with because of their natural ability. Ma and Pa were able to show him earth and nature style while Jiraiya showed him wind.

As the days turned to months and the months to years, as focused was Naruto was on his training and as tired as he was he never allowed it to interfere with his letters to Hinata. They were important to him and he would always be ready for Gabanta to arrive with a letter of his own to Hinata. He missed her and hoped she was well.

Naruto often thought of the days he'd spent on the practice field with the shy, quiet girl. She had become his best and closest friend, someone he could confide in and tell all his secrets too or share the stories of his travels with. Even though she was far away he felt like she was right with him.

Whenever they found themselves in a new town or village Naruto would look for small gifts for Hinata, sometimes with Jiraiya's help. He always chose something small, on Jiraiya's advice, so they could be hidden easily, usually a necklace, or flower pressings or shells from the ocean or lake, things no one would take notice of.

Naruto also took the time to find several items that he sent back to Kurenai and Iruka, things he thought they might like, a scarf or hat, and he even managed to find things for his apartment. Jiraiya would often make sure he had the help of the toads to deliver the larger items to avoid the extra cost of mailing them.

But as often as it happened there was one thing that always touched Jiraiya 's heart. He would often check on Naruto before he went to bed and more often than not Jiraiya would find his charge asleep as a desk in their room at an inn, the pen still in hand from working on a letter to Hinata. Many times Jiraiya would carefully pick the young Naruto up and tuck him into bed.

As Jiraiya would pull the covers over his young godson he would always think to himself, _You need your sleep little Naruto,_ and with a smile he would walk to the door and quiet shut it behind him after turning out the lights. He truly had come to think of the boy as his own grandson, much as he had often thought of Minato as his own son.

**Nearly Three Years Later**

Hinata lay on her bed, it was nearing one in the morning, she had pretended to go to bed hours ago, but had long since learned to wake herself up when she needed too. In her hands was a pen and on her bed was a small collection of items and a pad of paper. The items around her would fit into a single jewelry box, a gift for her ninth birthday from Naruto.

Inside it held a small fox necklace he had given to her when they had first become friends, it had become one of her most treasured possessions. Since he had left Naruto had sent her small items through Gabanta from the different villages he and Jiraiya went too. There were several pairs of different colored hair sticks, a beautiful comb, another necklace, this one having a small silver hawk on it, and numerous other items ranging from pressed flowers to sea shells and each of them brought a smile to Hinata's face.

In her lap was a small pad of paper, she was busy writing Naruto another letter. It was strange how much she had come to enjoy this, even though Naruto had left nearly three years before it hadn't truly felt like he had left. Thanks to Gabanta, the messenger toad, they were able to communicate very quickly. They would write letters constantly receiving as many as a dozen letters or more a month.

Hinata had kept every letter from Naruto secretly hidden in her room. She was only able to write Naruto at certain times, such as very early in the morning when everyone was still asleep or during class at the academy when it looked like she was writing notes. It was like their private way of communicating and she had leaned on it so much at times.

As hard as Hinata had tried she just couldn't seem to make her father happy with her. Hiashi demanded perfection, aggression, strength, and brilliance from his daughter. While he judged her kekkei genkai to be among the strongest he had ever seen, he simply saw her wasting her potential and had become disgusted with her. It was no secret he felt his daughter was unfit to be his heir and many thought she may receive the caged bird seal at some point.

Hanabi, her younger sister, was 5 now and Hiashi had found much greater promise in her than he felt was in Hinata. Although many of the branch and main family members considered Hinata to be their preferred choice for leadership of the clan, they felt her quiet strength and gentle manner would be better for the clan than the aggressive brilliance Hiashi wanted. They thought Hinata was stronger than Hiashi gave her credit for and many supported her as heir to the clan leadership. Unfortunately for them, they had little say in the matter as the ones who decided were the clan council and Hiashi.

Hinata had learned to express her thoughts and feelings in her letters to Naruto who responded quickly with understanding and caring for his friend. The two had become much closer over the years through their letters to one another. It was like Naruto had never left to Hinata, that he understood how she felt, and was sympathetic to her, meant the world to her. His letters often made her smile and laugh at his stories even when she was lay bruised and hurting from training. And laughter and smiles were something Hinata needed desperately in her life. No one else wanted to incur the wrath of their clan leader by befriending the unwanted first born of Hiashi Hyuga.

Naruto always wrote to her, encouraging her, giving her solace in her day and a place inside herself where she felt she was worth something. It gave her that small part that allowed her to retain enough self-respect that even when her father was berating her for her failure to him she was able to weather the storm. She only hoped that the letters she sent to Naruto also brought him the same comfort that his brought to her.

**At Itupoh Village**

Naruto sat at the desk in the room. He had grown greatly in the three years since he had been back to Konoha. He was currently working on a letter to his friend Hinata back home. It was strange how he thought of Konoha as home having lived there only a year, but whenever he thought of home he thought of his small apartment back in Konoha and Iruka-sensei, kurenai, and the third hokage, and especially of Hinata and sometimes even Sasuke.

Naruto knew Hinata was still having trouble with her dad and wished he could do more than offer words of encouragement to his friend. She was always wishing him well and hoping his training was going well.

_She is so kind and gentle, I wish her dad could see her for the good side of her_ Naruto thought as he continued to write her his letter.

In fact his training had been very hard and demanding. Jiraiya had not been kidding when he said he was planning on making things rough for Naruto.

Naruto had spent the past three years under constant training and it showed. While he was only nine years old he already learned over a dozen jutsu, true they were lower class D-rank for the most part, but he had been taught several C-jutsu and one B-ranked jutsu as well, which still had a lot of work to be done as he glanced at the small toad on his bed. He had also always been trained with weights to increase his strength and taijutsu prowess.

Jiraiya explained to him the concepts of genjutsu but he found he had little practical ability in the area, although he was able to manage several basic genjutsu but had been taught particularly how to recognize and break genjutsu rather than create them. It was true, Naruto was beyond a starting gennin but he wasn't quite chuunin level yet either, but since he was still several years from graduating at the academy Jiraiya thought he doing rather well.

Naruto would spar against Jiraiya almost every day and if he removed his weights he would find himself just about able to hang on with the old shinobi, if Jiraiya didn't try too hard that is. The biggest change in Naruto was that he was now able to summon the toads. As Naruto wrote Hinata he thought back to the day he had first been allowed to try and the small tadpole he had summoned. He chuckled as he looked again at the sleeping toad on his bed.

After a few months of trying he had finally managed to summon a real Toad, of course, the toad had come with his own attitude as well.

**Flashback**

"Ok kid, look, you have to push more chakra out for the summons, if you can't then you'll never be able to summon anything bigger than a tadpole, got it? I know it's hard to expel that much chakra but you have to focus and make sure not to let any of it slip away from you when you expel it, keep it tightly controlled k?" Jiraiya told him again, he had said the same thing about a hundred times and Naruto was getting tired of it being repeated.

In fact Naruto was sick and tired of never getting anything other than a tadpole, it made him mad that he was trying so hard and getting such little results. He had managed to figure out how to focus his chakra with the leaf from the first lesson after a month, said leaf was now resting safely in a small box of his possessions, after being pressed, in his apartment back in Konoha.

Jiraiya had been harping on him about chakra control ever since they had left Konoha. He kept explaining that the more focused he could become with his chakra the better off he would be at jutsu. He told him that if he wasted less chakra by tightening the control and letting less escape in a jutsu management he would have more in reserve for longer fights allowing him to use more jutsu and outlast his opponents.

"Think of chakra like a stream of water," Jiraiya had told him, "If you tighten the stream you use less water to achieve the same goal as a larger river because you get more force from the increased pressure. So if you tighten you chakra stream you can move the leaf or use the jutsu while using less chakra."

But it had been months and Naruto as got frustrated her got angry at the thought of not being able to summon a damn toad. It made him so frustrated that upon his next try he felt the chakra swelling inside him and he had torn his thumb open, again, with his teeth and shouted, "NINJA ART!: SUMMONING JUTSU!" And in a puff of smoke a small Toad was standing there.

"Yo," it said raising its right front flipper in greeting. It was bright orange and about 5 pounds at the most but it was far better than the tadpole!

Naruto grinned at his guardian who smiled thinking, _Ha!, almost 8 years old and summoning a full Toad, not too bad, what the kid may lack in natural talent he makes up for in raw guts and stubbornness._

"So whats up, names Gamakichi, got any magazines or food or something huh? I'm not really looking for too much work after all, I'm more of a management toad." the small Toad said.

"Congratulations Naruto! Nope, nothing like that for you Gamakichi, but you two can play while I'm gone, take the rest of the day off Naruto and enjoy having fun and getting to know Gamakichi, it'll pay off later when you two need to work together got it? Anyway, I'm off to do research!" Jiraiya told them as he walked out of the room with a big grin on his face.

**End Flashback**

Ever since, whenever Naruto was lonely or when Jiraiya might be gone to meet a contact and he wasn't training, Naruto would summon Gamakichi and they'd either train together or find some kind of trouble to get into. The two were becoming very good at finding trouble and pranking people, especially Jiraiya.

The biggest trouble they enjoyed getting into was running off Jiraiya's 'research assistants' with pranks. Naruto grinned at the thought, he had figured out that if he pranked the girls they'd leave and his guardian would be forced to train him more or at least get them separate rooms at the inns. His favorite had been putting stink bugs into Jiraiya's bathroom and under his bed, girls always hated that one. It was too bad Jiraiya now made sure to check the room for stink bugs before entering with any 'research assistants.'

He remembered hearing the girls the first time he did it.

**Flashback**

Naruto had been sitting in his room adjacent to Jiraiya's when he heard the two go inside the room. He suppressed his laughter at the thought of the dozen or two strategically placed bugs in the room before nodding to Gamakichi who shot a very small water bullet, well, more or a pellet than a bullet, from outside on a tree at the bug nearest to him on the window before hopping inside Naruto's room.

Once one stink bug began to release its smell in defense the others would follow along and do the same in short order.

"Uh, whats that smell?" a high pitched female voice said from the room next to Naruto's.

"Oh, I, uh, that's nothing babe, just concentrate on the questions please. Sooo, how big of a bust size did you say you had again?" Jiraiya's voice said as he obviously attempted to change the subject while he was trying to determine the location of the offending odor.

"Ugh, it's getting worse! What is that?! Did you do something in the bathroom?" the girls voice was now rather nasally as she obviously was trying to hold her nose.

Jiraiya groaned as he couldn't locate the bugs fast enough and Naruto heard the girl opened the door.

"Forget it, this is gross you old pervert, I'm not into this kind of thing and I'm getting out of here, that smell is horrid!" She had told him and Naruto could hear the woman leave and the door slam as he and Gamakichi burst into laughter.

**End Flashback**

It hadn't taken long for Jiraiya to make his way to Naruto's room after discovering the dozen or so stink bugs that he had been filtered into the room from the window. Gamakichi had managed to escape in a puff of smoke with a "Good Luck Naruto!", although Jiraiya made sure Ma and Pa were told what the two had done. But ever since he figured that out he had decided to prank his guardian constantly.

Jiraiya was constantly on the lookout for water balloons, smoke pellets, stink bugs, electric buzzers, anything and everything that Naruto and Gamakichi might come up with. One time he had even found a dozen rubber snakes hidden in his bag with a jutsu placed on them to cause them to sound like live snakes!

Naruto had written Hinata the moment he had figured out about pranking Jiraiya to tell her about it. He was glad he could make her laugh with the stories. He knew she needed a reason to laugh and hoped he was giving her something to look forward to with her letters. As he finished his current letter he placed a pair of hair sticks in the letter. She had mentioned she was growing her hair out in a letter a while back so he always made sure to pick up some hair sticks for her when he was out in the market of a new village.

Smiling Naruto sealed the envelope with the hair sticks to wait for his most recent letter from Hinata. He then poked Gamakichi to wake up the sleeping toad and sent him back to Mount Myōbokuzan after thanking him for another day of training.

"Hey No prob Naruto, good to see you as always bud! Summon me next time you hit the ramen stand though, I'd love some with flies in it!" He said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Naruto then proceeded to lay down for a good night's sleep.


	10. An Unexpected Summons Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction

Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks so much for the reviews. Originally I had Chapters 9 and 10 as one single update but decided to make them separate chapters instead so I hope it works! Please keep the reviews coming!

**Chapter 10: An Unexpected Summons**

**Hyuga Complex**

Hinata was almost nine and a half years old when one day her world was turned upside down. She had come home like usual, she was waiting for the response from her most recent letter to Naruto. As she entered the complex and proceeded down the hallway toward her room she noticed immediately something was wrong. Her door was open and there were two clan guards outside it, she could tell from where she was that someone was in her room.

As Hinata rounded the corner she saw her father standing over her bed holding in his hand several pieces of paper with many more scattered on her bed. Her desk had been opened and the false bottom she had put in it torn up. She recognized letters immediately and gasped.

Hiashi's voice was quiet, too quiet, too controlled, his eyes were strained and his mouth and face was set tightly. The guard's outside the room both had worried expressions on their face. No one had seen Hiashi Hyuga so close to losing control. He was far passed angry, he was enraged beyond reason.

"You… You… traitor!" he spat at her. "You DARE to DEFY ME! I AM YOU FATHER!" He yelled at her, his voice rising to a thunderous boom through the hallways. "YOU WOULD DARE DEFY ME IN MY OWN HOUSE! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"

Hiashi's voice was laced with rage and anger, his body moved before Hinata could react. One moment he was inside her room and the next he was standing behind her. She turned swiftly to meet her father, his enraged eyes boring into her very soul determining her guilt. And in one swift motion he struck her across the face with enough force to send her flying back into her room.

Hinata lay there stunned, staring up at her father, the hyuga guards were conflicted on what to do. They wanted to intervene but neither could do anything more than stand there as the seals on their foreheads stopped them, though in truth neither thought they could actually hold back the master of the hyuga family.

With a final cold and enraged look at his stunned daughter Hiashi spoke, "You are no longer my daughter, You are no longer my heir, I renounce our blood ties and cast you out of the main branch of the family. I will fetch the seal master and you will be branded from this moment on as a caged bird. You will forever be bound to this family, you will never be allowed near that creature again."

With a turn Hiashi went to summon the sealing master. Gabanta jumped out of his hiding spot at this moment and onto Hinata's lap.

"Wake up Hinata, Damn it get up! You have to run! RUN!" He yelled at her. The two guards standing at the door nodded to her, they would not stop her and she saw the marks on the head, they were branch family, they wanted her to escape, although they could do nothing to help her.

One simply said, "Go!" and the other nodded.

Gabanta slapped Hinata across the face, his webbed flipper waking the girl from her stunned state.

_I…I have to run, oh-oh god, father will place that seal on me! I have to go! I have to go now!_ She thought to herself.

Hinata then grabbed the box from Naruto from its hiding place and jumped out her window with Gabanta not far behind.

"Where do I go? Damn it I don't know where would be safe!?" She said out loud as she continued to run.

Her father was one of the most powerful clan leaders in the village, he would find her anywhere she went and as fast as she was thinking she wasn't sure anyone would dare stand up to him on her behalf.

_Who was it Naruto always said was like a sister to him? Kurenai! I'll go to her, she's near enough that I can make it before father finds me!_ Hinata thought to herself and she flew down the street, racing against both time and her father. She knew the moment her father found she had fled he would seek her return with the seal master in tow.

**Minutes Later at Kurenai's**

Kurenai heard the pounding on her door, it was mid-afternoon and she had just returned from a recent body guard mission from the land of waves. She opened the door to find a small girl and a toad standing there, the girl looked terrified to her, like she had fled something horrible beyond imagining.

_Wait, I know this girl, she's Naruto's friend, Hinata Hyuga,_ Kurenai thought to herself as she motioned for the girl to enter.

Hinata quickly recounted what had happened, the already darkening bruise on her face giving mute testimony to the truth and accuracy of her statement. Kurenai quickly gathered the girl in her arms and held for a moment.

"N-Naruto al-always said," sobbing between the words as she spoke "th-that you, um, we-were like aaa sister t-to him, I-could y-you pl-please h-h-help me" Hinata asked her.

Kurenai soothed the poor girl a moment before speaking.

"We have to go to the hokage immediately. He's the only one who can protect you from Hiashi. We have to move quickly and get there before Hiashi does though, come on Hinata, you need to be strong right now, you can cry later ok? I won't let Hiashi hurt you or put that seal on you, but you have to get this to the hokage right now."

Hinata nodded to Kurenai, clearly frightened and followed the older kunoichi as she opened the door and headed toward the hokage tower.

**The Hokage Tower**

Hiashi arrived at the office of the Third Hokage, he was still caught in a rage at having found Hinata had run away from the complex. He had not meant to find the letters in her room. In fact he had simply want to tell her that their training that day would be put on hold because he had a clan meeting suddenly arise. But when he had entered the room he noticed the pink sheet of paper sticking out from her desk, he had reached to put it away into her desk when he saw it was stuck to the inside of the desk, then he had found the false bottom and all of the letters.

_Dozens of them, possible hundreds! How could my own daughter disobey me like this!?_ Hiashi thought to himself as anger began to surface again.

Hiashi shook his head to clear his thoughts, his anger lurking beneath the calm exterior. But now he was in control and he would make sure she was returned, he had the sealing master waiting for her when she was returned to him.

Hiashi did not wait for the hokage to summon him into his office, he simply pushed the doors open and walked in on his own initiative. He looked at the hokage, the old man before him sat with his usual pipe in his mouth, his official robes hung from his body, but it was his eyes that should have warned Hiashi he was going too far.

"Lord Hokage, my daughter has run away, disobeying me again. I wish her returned immediately as is my right." He asserted to the old man sitting in front of him. He knew his words were brazen but he knew the law, his daughter would be returned no matter who was hiding her from him.

A soft puff of smoke left the pipe of the Third Hokage as he looked as Hiashi. Hiashi's rage was evident and he could clearly see the man was upset over his daughter having run away from him. A soft smile crossed his lips.

"What is it old man? Why are you smiling? I want my daughter returned by whoever has given her shelter and I want her returned immediately." Hiashi began to have a slight chill enter his spine as the Hokage's eyes drilled into him.

"I'm sorry but I believe you renounced your blood-ties with the girl you now call daughter earlier today. Thus you have no paternal right to the girl. She has, in fact, already been taken in by another of the village. I'm sorry Hiashi, but I cannot comply with your request." The Third Hokage was smiling evilly at Hiashi Hyuga.

"Furthermore, I believe you need to be very careful with how you treat people in your clan. As clan leader, the way you treat your family reflects on your clan. And I do not believe it would be very good if you continued to strike them. Only a very poor excuse for a man does such a thing to his family, you should dwell on what it means to be a leader of one's clan Hiashi, it implies you protect them, not harm them. I suggest you meditate on that fact, you are dismissed Hiashi."

Hiashi's eyes blazed with anger as the door behind him opened and he heard a small gasp. He turned to see Hinata standing there with Kurenai beside her. He glared at them both but knew he could do nothing here. However Hiashi Hyuga would never let them have the final say, he ruled his clan as he saw fit.

"You are no longer a Hyuga, from this day you are cast out of your clan. Go, be with your pathetic monster. Never darken my door again." He said to her as he swept himself from the office.

After Hiashi had left Hinata collapsed to the floor crying, the terror and hurt of the day finally catching up with the girl, Gabanta sat nearby. "P-please, g-go, Ga-Gabanta, g-go, get N-naruto, pl-please." Hinata choked out her request in-between her sobs, Gabanta jumped and gave the girl as much a hug as a toad can and promised to get Naruto as quickly as he could and immediately bounded out on his mission.

**Itupoh Village Days Later**

Naruto was finishing his packing as Jiraiya stood at the door grinning at him. "Well kid, looks like we'll be heading back toward Konoha soon, I figure we'll be there in about six months with the route we'll be taking. I bet that makes you happy."

_And lots of nice places to do research in_ Jiraiya thought to himself with a big grin.

_Pervy old man, well, at least I'm going home again, _Naruto thought and smiled at his guardian and nodded to the older shinobi.

As he finished packing his bag a small form came crashing into the room through the window and into Naruto's bag, he thrashed around until finally popping out with a pair of Naruto's boxers on his head.

"Hey Gabanta, what's going on? Why are you in such a hurry?" Naruto asked as he pulled his boxers off the toad.

Gabanta looked as if he had been running for days without rest and he was breathing heavily, and was very nearly unconscious, for a toad as used to long distance running as Gabanta, that meant he had pushed himself very hard and something bad had happened. Jiraiya walked over and picked up the toad and filled the sink in the bathroom with water before sliding the poor creature into it.

Gabanta let out a satisfied sound as he lay in the water for a moment before opening his eyes and regaining his senses upon which he immediately jumped up and onto Naruto splashing water everywhere.

"Hinata! Hinata! She was attacked by Hiashi, he found the letters between you two and he hit her and tried to put the cage seal on her! She just barely made it to Kurenai and the hokage to stop him! Naruto you have to come home, she's completely alone!"

It took Jiraiya a few minutes to calm both Gabanta and Naruto since they both were ready to go running out of the town. However he finally was able to get the full story of what happened.

_So you finally went too far Hiashi. I would never thought you'd go so far as to hit your own kid, my god, what happened to the man I knew 10 years ago and was Minato's best friend?_ Jiraiya thought to himself.

"Ok, we'll be making straight for Konoha, if we move quickly we should make it in a week or two at most." Naruto nodded to his guardian and removed his weights, he knew they would be traveling fast and light. Gabanta said he knew a quicker way back than the ones on the maps and would show them, the trio quickly moved out of the hotel and proceeded to make all haste back to Konoha.

_I hope Hiashi doesn't try anything rash, for the moment the girl is safe, but if he does something stupid to try and get back at her he could truly hurt her and it could end up causing Naruto to release that damn fox. Emotion fuels Naruto's ability to access the demon's chakra right now and rage especially could cause the seal to be weakened. If something happened to Hinata Naruto would go nuts and I am not sure what would happen! The best thing right now is to get home as quickly as possible and make sure Hinata is safe. Don't do anything stupid Hiashi,_ Jiraiya thought as he moved quickly following the Toad.

**A Week Later**

The trio came to a stop, since he was leading Naruto and Jiraiya Gabanta was not able to make as good a time as when he could alone. But they had managed to turn a 6-7 week journey into a week and a half and were now only two days from the village.

Naruto was complaining about having to stop, "Sagie! Come on, we can keep going!"

The three had been going non-stop on merely an hour's rest each night for days and they were all tired, and Jiraiya knew it, they needed sleep and some food.

"No Naruto, we need to rest, Hinata is safe for the moment and we're only a few days away, we'll be there day after tomorrow. Right now we need to sleep and eat." Jiraiya was adamant and Gabanta was more or less in agreement with Jiraiya.

"What about the toads? Couldn't we get one of the big ones you keep telling me about to take us there?!" Naruto asked, he was obviously in a hurry to see his friend and concerned for her safety, even if she was with Kurenai.

Jiraiya laughed, "You want to use a Toad a pack mule? There is no way we could pull that off, I can't see any of them willing to do that for us, sorry kid, we're staying here for at least a good night's sleep but if you so determined go ahead and give it a try, I'll be sure to watch and laugh at the reaction Gamakichi has."

_Naruto's been pushing himself well beyond his usual limit, he can barely stand, I doubt he'll even manage to summon Gamakichi with his current chakra levels_ Jiraiya thought to himself.

Naruto immediately bit his thumb and throwing his hand to the ground shouted, "NINJA ART!: SUMMONING JUTSU!" Unfortunately the only toad to appear was the one that always did.

Gamakichi looked at Naruto, Gabanta, and Jiraiya and saw the state of the trio before speaking. Their clothes were dirty and stained from the road and their faces were a bit thinner than a week ago, they obviously hadn't eaten much that week. Their expressions were serious and set. It was obvious they had been pushing themselves hard for that week with little rest.

"So, what's goin on here? And Gabanta what are you doing here?" Gamakichi asked as Naruto moved to look into the forest.

It was nearing midnight, the sun had long since set. The tree's of the forest swayed in the slight breeze that cooled the night. The moon shown down on their small camp as Naruto moved him so he could look into the night, toward his home, toward his friend.

Gamakichi was quickly filled in on the situation by Jiraiya and Gabanta while Naruto stood by himself looking in the direction of Konoha.

_Hinata needs me, she's my friend damn it and I'm not there to help her. She needs me and I'm not there! What was all that training for if I can't help my best friend!_ The words replayed themselves in Naruto's mind as he thought of his best friend alone and crying. Naruto began to feel a strange presence he had never felt before coming from his stomach. It was warm and he felt a rush, like his chakra but slightly different.

Jiraiya looked up from talking with the two toads and saw his godson standing there, red chakra almost flowing off of him in waves.

_Uh oh, this could be bad…_ Jiraiya thought as he got up and started moving toward Naruto carefully.

"Uh, Naruto…." Jiraiya started as he saw the chakra around his godson continue to increase in tempo and strength.

_I'm not there and I need to be! Hinata needs me! I need to be there, I need to get there NOW! And there's only one way to do it. _ Naruto thought to himself as he bit his finger again.

The red chakra was streaming off from Naruto now, his emotions mixed up in the power of the demon chakra coming from him. Jiraiya tried to yell to Naruto to calm down but Naruto couldn't hear his guardian as he felt the rush of power and the pounding of the blood in his ears. The only sound he heard were those of his own thoughts.

_I'm coming Hinata!_ He thought as he yelled into the night, slamming his hand onto the ground, the ground was cold, the seals from the jutsu spreading out taking an almost reddish cast to them in the night as the Kyuubi's power flowed into them causing the ground itself to burn as if with an intense heat. The night was stunned to silence as if the creatures of the night recognized the chakra and bowed to its great power and mere presence. And in the midst of it all a young boy's voice filled with demonic energy called out the jutsu as he demanded an answer to his plight, "**NINJA** **ART!: SUMMONING JUTSU!**"

There was an explosion of power forcing Naruto to fly back toward his guardian, who only just managed to catch him, and as the smoke cleared before them stood a giant toad. The toad was dark red, in his mouth was a large pipe and at his side was a sheathed Katana. He also had a large jagged scar running down the left side of his face and through his eye, although the eye itself was unhurt. He wore a samurai coat of him and his sword was belted to his waist.

Jiraiya looked up at his old friend Gamabunta and stared, _How the hell did this kid manage that one? And Damn it! I can't even control Gamabunta, we might be in serious trouble here._ Jiraiya thought to himself.

"**Who just summoned me in the middle of the night?**" the giant toad asked as he looked around.

Before Jiraiya could speak Naruto jumped up and spoke, "I did sir, I need your help to get to Konoha, will you please take us there!"

The great toad roared with laughter at Naruto and upon seeing Jiraiya he spoke to him, "**Is this kid telling the truth, did he actually summon me and why in the world would I ever carry you there kid?** **HAHAHA, you can't even drink sake with me, get outa here and let the grown-ups talk.**"

Naruto was getting angry again and the fox's power could be seen to rise as he jumped onto the head of Gamabunta, not the smartest idea Naruto had ever had.

"Listen toad, I don't care who you are, my friend needs me, her dad just did something horrible to her and she's alone. I promised her I'd be there for her and we're so close but sagie won't take us the rest of the way without rest. Please sir, she's precious to me and all alone. She needs me to be there for her." Naruto's eyes began to tear up as he was talking and before long he was crying as he stood on the toad's nose looking into his eyes talking to him.

As Naruto was talking to him Gamakichi and Gabanta showed up, jumping onto Naruto's shoulders.

Gabanta nodded his confirmation to the boys story but Gamakichi spoke to Naruto's defense, "Come on pop's, the kids best friend and future girlfriend needs him, really, have a heart, he's a good kid and could use some help here, just this once, please!"

"**Gamakichi? Gabanta? What are you two doing here?!**" Gamabunta asked them.

With a quick, "Uh, your own your own kid," Gamakichi, he and Gabanta immediately jumped back to hide behind Jiraiya to avoid the toad chief's anger at their presence.

"Damn it! You're supposed to be the toad chief right?!" Naruto said as tears slid down his face to fall onto the toad's skin. "Then you know what it means to protect someone and Hinata needs me to be there right now. She sent Gabanta for me, she doesn't have anyone else right now, he cast her out of her clan and she's alone with someone she only just met. She was attacked by her dad because she's my best friend. Damn you stupid old toad, help us!"

Gamabunta looked into the kid and glared at him, but he understood wanting to be there to protect someone and as he eye'd his own kin below him he blew a long puff of smoke from his pipe.

A strange idea crossed Naruto's mind as he looked at the old toad before him, "If you do it, the old pervy sage there will get you a dozen bottles of sake!"

With this offer Jiraiya immediately tried to jump in but only managed a, "Hey! Wait a mom-" before the old toad let out a roar of a laugh and responded.

"**Alright kid, hop on, you too you old pervert, and Gamakichi and Gabanta, we'll be having a talk about this later, got that?**" The two toads nodded with a gulp and Jiraiya let out a glare at his godson.

_Damn it, you said just the right thing to get the old toad to do what you wanted didn't you Naruto? Not so dense after all Haha, I guess a few bottles of sake isn't too much to ask for to get the kid to calm down,_ Jiraiya thought to himself.

"**Hold on tight, we'll be in Konoha by morning!**" Gamabunta told them as he began to take long leaps through the night. The villages he passed thought that they were having earthquakes as the giant toads bulk moved swiftly through the night.

As promise just as dawn was rising in the sky the large toad landed at the gate of Konoha and proceeded to walk into the village with Naruto riding on top of his head and Gamakichi and Gabanta on his shoulders.

Jiraiya merely sat in the back and couldn't help but think to himself, _My god, he looks like Minato right there. Maybe he will be the Hokage one day…_

The two guards at the gate looked stunned, one looked to the other and said "So, uh, do we stop them?"

The other looked at his companion and shook his head, "Let giant toads cross I say man. Besides, that's Lord Jiraiya up there, so it must be ok, uh, right?"

The nodded together and stayed well out of the path of the giant toad.

Gamabunta walked down the center of the morning traffic, which cleared a wide path for him, as the people looked up at Naruto, the sun was shining from his back. He was wearing his black cargo pants and orange shirt, his hair was spiky, as always, held back by a pair of goggles that Hinata had gotten him and his eyes were bright, azure blue and his arms were crossed in front of him. He wore a shinobi tactical belt and on his left leg was strapped a ninja pouch. He wore a black jacket over his orange shirt, open in the front and he stood there for the staring villagers to see, in particular, one Hiashi Hyuga stared wide eyed at the boy as he entered the village.

Gamabunta stopped outside of Kurenai's small house as Naruto rushed down and to the house just as Kurenai opened the door to see what the commotion was outside. Naruto pushed past her to find Hinata sitting on the couch with a blanket over her shoulders, a cup of tea in her hands. As she looked up the cup of tea fell from her gasp and she began to cry.

Naruto immediately hugged his best friend, not failing to notice the large, dark bruise still on her cheek. He tried to apologize for not being there sooner but Hinata merely tightened her hold on the only person she felt she had left in the world right then.

_He came for me_ Hinata thought to herself, _I knew he would come back for me_

And as the adults and toads looked on the two children comforted each other before them and they all had knowing smiles watching the two youngsters.


	11. A True Family

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: I am really glad you all liked chapter 10! Thanks so much for the support and reviews on it! As many of you might expect some more twists are coming that will really shake things up but until then things will settle down for a short time. Please keep the reviews coming and I hope you en joy chapter 11!

**Chapter 11: A True Family**

Gamabunta held Jiraiya to his deal with Naruto and left only _after_ Jiraiya had gotten him a dozen bottles of sake. He also had a long conversation with Jiraiya before leaving.

"**That kid's got some power and potential in him. Reminds me of the fourth hokage, always rushing to help his friends without thinking, it's good to see in this day. Too many forget what it means to protect others so whole-heartedly in this age. But if you call me again in the middle of the night without a damn good reason I'm going to swallow you whole, got it?!**" Gamabunta placed a hand on his katana for added emphasis near the end of the statement. He wanted to make sure no one interrupted his sleep again without a damn good reason.

"Hey! I didn't call you in the first place you old toad!" Jiraiya said in his defense as the load toad laughed at him and disappeared in a puff of smoke with Gamakichi, Gabanta, and the dozen bottles of sake in tow.

Jiraiya sighed and thought to himself, _He could have at least shared some of the sake with me!_

Kurenai walked up next to him and put her hand on his shoulder catching his attention. For the first time Jiraiya noticed they had new arrivals, Iruka and Kakashi had arrived along with the third hokage who had been summoned when people had reported seeing a giant toad being ridden by a small boy and lord Jiraiya. Even the third hokage had been surprised by the giant toad walking down the main street of the town in the middle of the morning traffic.

"Well, they're both passed out inside, I would guess Naruto probably pushed himself well beyond his limits to get here so quickly and it's the first time in a week she's been able to sleep. She keeps having nightmares about her father attacking her. Poor thing, her father put a fracture in her jaw which was tough to heal and the bruise has been there for a week, it should start fading now that she's able to sleep again though and hopefully heal." Kurenai told them.

The third hokage looked at where the old toad had vanished from and nodded. "Kurenai, I know we discussed it before, but as we didn't make any long term plans. I'd appreciate it if would you be willing to take the child in until she is a bit more stable and ready to live on her own. I don't think it would be appropriate to let her stay with Naruto had such a young age."

"Certainly not! They're only nine and a half, I doubt either of them realizes they have feelings beyond being friends yet. I am assuming you and Naruto will be staying for a while Jiraiya?" She asked looking to her old shinobi.

"Yes, I had planned to return to Konoha for a long term visit anyway. I'll continue Naruto's training here and at least he and Hinata won't have to be so secretive about being friends. I have a feeling Hinata's going to need to lean on her friendship with Naruto a lot in the next year as she adjusts to her new situation. It's always tough on anyone who was a member of such a clan to no longer have that support in their life. Besides, I'd like to see her try a different juken style, I think it would work better for her."

The third hokage looked at his old pupil with a raised eyebrow, "So you intend to train them both?" he asked.

"I wouldn't say that, I figure Hinata will probably go anywhere Naruto goes anyway so I might as well take the opportunity to teach them both since they'll be together." Jiraiya told them as he raised his head and crossed his arms as if the thought of taking on another pupil was an affront to him somehow.

Iruka finally spoke up in the discussion as it turned to training and he was the children's sensei… technically. "Well sir, I can give you the information I have on Hinata's current training level and also if you tell me what your planning I'll try and supplement it with information in lessons for class at the academy."

Jiraiya nodded to the younger man and promised to discuss the training with him at length soon. The group broke up shortly after deciding that Hinata would stay with Kurenai until she thought the girl ready to live on her own and that Jiraiya would provide tutelage for both of the children. What they didn't mention was that Jiraiya's presence would also serve as a deterrent for any possible retaliation by the Hyuga clan.

Kakashi remained silent throughout the exchange and, after checking on Naruto and Hinata, was turning to leave when he found Kurenai blocking his path.

"So, are you planning on watching from a distance again this time?" She asked him point blank.

Kakashi leaned against the wall and put his hands in the pockets of his black ANBU pants and thought a moment before answering.

"It worked well enough last time. I don't intend to become involved right now. Lord Jiraiya will look after him and I'll get him soon enough." Kakashi responded to her question.

"You and I both know it didn't work out so well last time. If you had taken more interest in the boys life the village might have been more accepting early on. You don't realize how much people look up to you. You should be more involved Kakashi. Bah! You've always been so lazy and stubborn though." Kurenai told him and she moved out of his way.

"My presence would have not changed how the village saw him. And if you want the truth, I question if I made the right decision and if I should have been more involved in his life. But for now I think it best if he and I don't meet until he becomes my student. For some reason," Kakashi said scratching his chin ", it feels right, the same way I met my sensei and you met yours. It should be a fresh start for him in a way and I want him to view as his sensei."

Kurenai sighed at the lazy shinobi before her and allowed him to leave.

_And you don't have to do as much work if you just watch from time to time, huh Kakashi?_ Kurenai thought to herself as she watched Kakashi leave.

Kurenai checked in on the sleep pair. Hinata was finally sleeping restfully next to Naruto on Kurenai's bed. Kurenai had not exaggerated when she had told the others that Hinata had been unable to sleep. Every time she had tried she had nightmares of her father attacking her and she would wake up screaming. Kurenai had tried everything but nothing had seemed to help until Naruto had arrived.

As she looked at the two sleeping children she smiled thinking of the old adage, _They always look so cute when they're asleep_.

**A month Later**

A month's time had passed since Naruto's rather impressive entrance to the village. Many had been shocked by his return, having come to think the boy was gone for good. Others who had not been so sure of him heard about how the child had returned to help his friend, Hinata Hyuga, and the story of her abuse at the hands of her father spread quickly, with no small help from Jiraiya and the village found itself split on its view of the host of the nine-tailed fox.

Many still felt angry at the boy and he still received the cold glares but others accepted the story and began to be nicer to him. His impressive entrance on the head of Gamabunta and his hurried return to protect his friend struck a chord with many hearts in the village who felt sympathetic to the girl's treatment and were shocked by the rush of the boy who had come to her side. And there were others still who couldn't help but find both the actions and entrance by Naruto reminiscent of their beloved fourth hokage, something Jiraiya tried hard to down play.

"Oh No! You don't believe a kid could have the ability to summon the boss toad do you?" Jiraiya would say. "Come on, I'm his guardian and even I don't think he's anything like the fourth hokage!" He would joke with those in the bars and restaurants.

_Its best for now if they don't realize the connection, Naruto's growing fast but he's not there yet, if some of the other village's were to learn who is father is he'd be in great danger. The fourth hokage may have been a loved hero here but many other villages saw him as a murderer from the war._ Jiraiya thought to himself often as he tried to downplay the situation.

However even with all of Jiraiya's work, no one could stop the questions and whispers from spreading around the village. What if Naruto Uzumaki was the son of the fourth hokage? Why would the fourth Hokage put the demon inside his own son? And if so, where was his mother? These questions circulated among every gossip tree in Konoha, although most accepted Jiraiya's explanations and false trails that it was a simple uncanny resemblance, and even more scoffed at the idea of the boy being able to summon, let alone control, the giant chief toad, there were others who maintained the thought in the back of their minds, _What if?_

While Naruto was far from being named popular in the village the general sentiment towards him relaxed a bit and he would find himself more welcome in places, although others still fueled their old anger daily.

And anywhere Naruto went you could expect him to be in the company of the young Hyuga. The two friends were seen everywhere together and it was with the help of Naruto, Kurenai, and Iruka that Hinata began to finally be able to sleep through the night again. At first she would only sleep if Naruto was over but over time she was able to sleep by herself, reassured her father was not going to show up and harm her anymore.

As Kurenai learned of how Hiashi had treated his daughter, tearing her down mentally, acting as if she was utterly worthless trash, it made her angry. She would have liked nothing more than to see the head of the hyuga clan put through some very nasty genjutsu, but while she toyed with the thoughts she knew that would not help Hinata. She also gained a new respect for Naruto and his willingness to always be there for Hinata both in the current day and in the years before the incident, she only wished he had told someone about what was happening sooner.

Naruto also learned quickly of what happened to Sasuke's clan and how his brother Itachi had murdered his own family and everyone in his clan except Sasuke. The attack and betrayal by his brother had deeply affected the young boy causing him to turn inward and pushing himself even more. He was determined to rebuild his clan and take revenge on his brother for his betrayal.

The first day back at the academy Naruto had attempted to sit next to Sasuke, like he had before he had left, and noticed the boy held himself even more aloof than ever before and, with barely a hello, ignored Naruto's presence completely. His dark eyes seemed always distant and clearly caught up in his own world. Naruto worried about Sasuke, he seemed so caught up in the idea of being first in their class, so bent on becoming stronger. The kind of drive and determination that filled his heart bothered Naruto, it seemed almost unhealthy to him.

Hinata had taken the seat on the other side of Naruto in their classroom. The class was set up into three divided sections, right, center, with two sets of stairs breaking up the three sections and with 5 levels containing rows of desks on a semi-circle surrounding their sensei at the bottom floor. Sasuke always sat on right side near the window so he could look out when he was bored in class. Naruto had taken the seat next to him and Hinata next to Naruto, over the complaints of several of the Sasuke fan-girls, in particular Ino and Sakura.

Naruto's days were fairly routine, he would have class in the morning and afternoon until about 3 and then he and Hinata would meet Jiraiya at a practice field and train until dinner, many times they would eat at Kurenai's since Jiraiya had never been a very good cook, thus another reason why Naruto's idea of breakfast, lunch, and dinner was instant ramen. To Naruto's surprise Hinata had a natural talent with the culinary arts and was an excellent cook, something he had never know about his friend.

Iruka would also often join them for meals as well, letting Naruto and Hinata know how they were doing in class and giving them advance notice on their grades. Naruto would often look around the table filled with laughter and joy and smile at his friends, his family. Yes, family, a word he hadn't truly understood until now and it filled his heart with warmth. They would laugh at one another, discuss training, what they did during the day, talking about school, and eat and drink and all around enjoy their time together. The mood in the house and around the table was always warm and joyful. They may not have been related to him by blood but not all families are and Naruto had come to understand this, and this was his family.

**Naruto's Apartment**

It was nearly a month and a half since Naruto's return when he heard the tell-tale sound of someone tossing small rocks on his window. He opened the window as Anko Mitarashi slipped into his apartment. She hadn't changed much since Naruto had last seen her and, although she had added a small necklace to her outfit with a snake carved into a talisman.

"Hey Kid! How ya been? I heard you made quite the entrance back into town" Anko told him with a grin.

Nartuo returned her grin and recounted his travels with Jiraiya and particularly told her of his pranks with Gamakichi's help. Anko laughed at the stink bug incident and paid attention to the shaving cream idea he had. When he was finished she smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

"Sounds like we've got some time to make up for then, I had some ideas myself, I can't stay long tonight but I'll be back soon, just wanted to stop in before I had to leave tomorrow for a mission and make sure you were thinking of some good pranks for the future."

"Hey Anko, I have a friend who would like to join if you don't mind…" Naruto started and Anko laughed at him and broke in before he could finish.

"Hey kid, I figured Hinata Hyuga would want in when I heard you two were connected at the hip. Her Byakugan will be a great addition! Just make sure she watches where she steps k?" Anko told him with a sly smile on her face.

"Anyway, I gotta run, be good and I should be back in a week or so, just a short escort mission, be ready to prank some of those stuck up villagers when I get back ok!"

Naruto cheered and Anko slipped out the window the same way she had entered and just as quietly.

Once again the silver haired shinobi watched in the distance as the exchange took place and sighed again as he had those years ago.

_I suppose it could be worse, he could be acting like the old pervert his guardian is,_ Kakashi thought to himself.

**Over The Next Week**

Naruto and Hinata would meet each morning at the academy, Kurenai tended to escort her charge there in the early morning whenever she was able, and sometimes would bring cinnamon rolls or fruit for them to have before class started. She always said she knew Naruto was eating nothing but ramen, which Hinata often confirmed, so she had to make sure he had something else.

Their classes tended to be very interesting since Iruka-sensei tried to supplement whatever Jiraiya was teaching them with more information on the same subject. Sometimes class was boring and Naruto found his attention wandering a lot, but most of the time the two paid very close attention. They had learned the hard way that Jiraiya was not unopposed to quizzing them on what they were supposed to have learned in class, and if they couldn't answer he always had some horrible task for them to do as punishment. One time he had even had them spend their entire Saturday giving toads baths in the river!

Since the two would work together most of the time they tended to achieve much higher marks from studying together rather than separate, that and Kurenai and Iruka had made a deal that whenever they got full marks on tests they would treat them to meals at ichiraku ramen!

Hinata had moved in with Kurenai and, because Hiashi had been rather strict with what he would allow Hinata to take, claiming most of her clothing and furniture as property of the Hyuga clan, she had been forced to buy new things. The third hokage, realizing the girl didn't have any money, authorized a small, but generous payment for Kurenai through a rather easy mission he placed as B-rank titling it as: "Escort, Supply and Equipment Retrieval".

Kurenai and Hinata had dragged Naruto with them when they had gone shopping over the following weekend, forcing him to carry the bags, and when they had seen Jiraiya standing outside a weapons shop they had roped him into joining them as well. Naruto had started to ask about maybe getting some toads help but Jiraiya had immediately squashed the idea.

"You got lucky last time kid, now just shut up and carry the bags like a man!" he had been told.

With a sigh Naruto picked up the boxes and bags and followed the two Kunoichi on their shopping spree. A spree which ended up lasting several whole days putting both Naruto and Hinata's training on hold. By the end of it Hinata found herself with a new wardrobe, training outfits, and a comfortable room she and Kurenai decorated for her at Kurenai's home.

Hinata had been so happy she had simply been unable to thank everyone enough and it was only after stuttering around the ten thank you's that they finally told her to stop and just hugged her. While it was true she had had a room at the Hyuga complex to herself, it had come furnished and was very plain, the furniture and training outfits, all of the weapons and gear had belonged to someone else prior and been designed around the idea of conformity.

Her old room had been rather barren, posters or adornments were not allowed. The walls had been white and the bed sheets white with a blue blanket. Her desk had been, small and function, built into the side of the room, and even her drawers, closet and close hangers had been built into the room. Everything had been designed to be stationary and conformed with the other rooms. It matched the idea that the Hyuga Clan was one entity and acted as one.

Now Hinata had her own room which she decided to decorate with shades of purple, blue, and white. The two women had painted the walls a very light purple with white trim on her window. It had a small bed which had white sheets and a soft, deep purple comforter on it, a wooden bookshelf, desk and chair, and a small mirror which stood over her chest of drawers. On top of the chest was the only thing she had managed to rescue from her room before her flight, the jewelry box that Naruto had sent her and its many small items.

As one final gift Naruto had also gotten her a large orange stuffed fox, which rested on her bed. She smiled at it whenever she walked into her room. Kurenai had been so nice to take her in and was always helping her and looking out for her. She often thought of Kurenai as a big sister, the way Naruto did.

Naruto smiled at his friend as they sat in class at the academy. Hinata and Kurenai had also taken the chance to update Hinata's entire wardrobe. Naruto had tried to convince them of the beauties of the color orange but Hinata said she always liked purple and he was ultimately overruled. She had grown her hair out and it reached her shoulders with her intention being to allow it to grow longer. She tended to wear a purple coat with white sleeves, a white shirt underneath and purple cargo pants, similar in style to Naruto's. The shades from her coat and pants altered differently giving the impression of a constantly changing color purple between her hair, coat, and pants.

Naruto often thought that when Hinata moved in combat the coloring in her hair, her jacket, and her pants seemed to be in a constant color flux making her entire body appear fluid and oddly beautiful.

Hinata had also taken to wearing fighting bandages over her hands and arms like Kurenai and her eyes were brighter now. Jiraiya was having her continue her traditional Juken training, he had told her he had an idea how to make her much better but needed to study her movements first. So often he had the two sparring in the evening and followed their movements very closely.

Jiraiya had learned rather early on to avoid his more perverted nature around Kurenai and Hinata since he had tried winking as the two once only have Naruto put a big knot in the back of his head for it.

"NO! Pervy Sage! They are NOT research assistants, Bad Sagie!" Naruto had told him as his guardian lay on the floor with his hands over the large knot where Naruto had punched him on his head and the girls laughed loudly.

Hinata and Naruto had also taken rather quickly to working with Anko and became known as the three greatest pranksters in the history of Konoha. No one was safe, even the third hokage had found himself pranked by the trio when he walked into his office only to sit down on his chair to have a his entire office covered in white powder and feathers. With Hinata's Byakugan they were almost never caught and the village was plagued with paint balloons, shaving cream bombs, stink bugs, and just about any other prank the three could come up with.

However their all time favorite was when they had set managed to get ahold of several dozen fire-works and place a strong genjutsu on them so when they were launched hundreds of small orange fox's, blue hawks, and green snakes ran throughout the village chasing people. The kids had thought it was hilarious but the parents were rather less than amused when they found themselves chased by the screeching apparitions.

With classes at the academy going well, having found a new home, and finally being able to be herself, Hinata felt herself slowly coming out from under a cloud she had not even known she was under. She felt like she was breathing for the first time and always there with her was Naruto, his smiling face seemed to be a constant in her life, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

**Kurenai's House, October 10 (A little more than 4 months since Naruto's return)**

Naruto and Hinata had been held late by Jiraiya's latest training assignment but been told to head straight to Kurenai's for dinner after they finished. The two youngest had been told to focus on a large rock and use a particularly water jutsu focus to break the rock in half.

"The justsu you are going to use is meant to channel the water into a single stream under your control, it's called a water whip. It's normally used by hunter ninja from the waterfall village. You create the whip by channeling chakra into the water itself creating a controlled stream of water that your chakra hardens to a solid object."

Jiraiya then demonstrated as his hands went through the signs saying "Water Style: Water Whip!" and a solid rope of water came out of the water. Then he struck a large rock in the middle of the water leaving a deep gash. He told them both he wanted them to practice until the rock he had struck was cut in half and promptly left after they managed a solid rope.

Naruto's first several attempts kept sending large waves over the rock. Hinata had more success when she attempted and got a smaller, more focused strike with the water rope. They then took opposite sides of the rock from each other and focus their chakra and use precise strikes against the rock.

Of course it wasn't all about training, after Naruto's first few attempts which he had completely drenched Hinata, she, of course, retaliated. But finally when it started getting dark they were able to break the rock and head home laughing.

When they arrived they noticed the lights were out and figured everyone must have gone out to dinner and probably left them a note, they did that sometimes when Naruto and Hinata were super late. But when they entered the house all of the lights suddenly came on and a loud, "SURPRISE!!!" came from everyone in the house.

Jiraiya, Ma, Pa, Gamakichi, Gabanta, Kurenai, Iruka, The third Hokage, Anko, and even that weird Kakashi guy were all there and they were surrounding the table where a large chocolate birthday cake was with the big number 10 written in candles on it.

"Happy Birthday Naruto!" they all said together and smiled to the boy. Naruto was stunned and too shocked to move. He had never had a birthday party before, sure Ma and Pa, Hianta and Jiraiya sent him a card or a small gift to mark the day but he had never had a cake, or candles, or so many people there together and the emotion of gratitude and joy washed over him as he felt Hinata give him a huge and whispered, "Happy Birthday Naruto!"

"Th-Thank you all so much!" Naruto said as a tear ran down his cheek.

He walked up to the table and blew out the candles before him, many wondered what the boy had wished for but they would be sadly disappointed if they thought it was for power or strength or some toy, no, Naruto Uzumaki didn't wish for anything, he figured he had everything he needed right in this room.

**Hyuga Complex Six Months After Naruto's Return**

The days, weeks, and months passed silently as Naruto and Hinata moved away from the morning when Naruto came back. They seemed happier and the people around them cared for them as family. But others were not as happy and although Hinata had begun to finally be able to move away from the abuse of her past, Hiashi, her father, found his sleep disturbed and his thoughts constantly turned to the morning when he had seen Naruto standing on Gamabunta's head.

Hiashi had only seen one other person make such an entrance, his best friend, Minato Namikaze. The way the child had stood on top of that toad, his sense of purpose, his manner, everything screaming his father to Hiashi and he couldn't shake the feeling in his mind and the constant rush of emotion at the thought of his long dead best friend and how he would feel knowing how Hiashi had hated his son.

Hiashi had begun to take potions at night to help him sleep, to banish the dreams where he and Minato were training, laughing, and enjoy their lives. They had been rivals in life and best friends beyond that. The worst dreams though were those of the night Minato had died. He saw the fox demon, its' nine tails lashing about, the screams of his clansmen and the shinobi around him and worst of all he saw Minato standing on top of the toads head, his only son in his arms as he sealed the beast away.

He had watched as the life disappeared from his best friend, seen his body fall as Jiraiya had taken the child and laid Minato's body on the head of Gamabunta.

There had been so much blood that night, so much horror. He had lost many of his clan as they had worked to hold back the demon. He himself had been injured that night and been forced to watch as his clansmen had died by the dozens beneath the beasts monstrous strength, its claws and fangs.

Such dreams had been banished long ago, or so Hiashi had thought. Now they had returned and they were worse than ever. For some reason Hiashi had kept the letters that Hinata had received from Minato's son and an urge that could be called nothing but morbid curiosity pushed him to read the letters.

Over several months he had read the letters sent to his daughter in the privacy of his study. Each night he saw them filled with a recurring theme, Hinata's feelings for her father and how Naruto, rather than hating him, he encouraged her to talk to him. He had constantly told her to speak up and tell him how she had felt. He had the same faith in people his father had, he believed her father would understand.

_Minato, your son is a curse on this village, as much as you were_ Hiashi thought to himself.

_If you hadn't been so willing to die that night none of this would have happened, Damn it Minato! Why did you son have to inherit your faith in people?_ Hiashi couldn't stop himself from the self-realization that he had gone too far.

In his quest to ensure the safety and protection of his clan, Hiashi had let his hatred push away his family and in turn allowed him to become a greater beast than the one that existed within the child he held such hate for. While Hiashi's hate for the beast did not vanish, nor did his arrogance cease, he had learned more about the child people called Naruto Uzumaki.

Hiashi Hyuga was a man of great strength and very rarely allowed self-doubt to cloud his mind. But even his own clan had thought he had gone too far and he saw it in their faces daily. They would never say it to his face, and Hiashi may not say it out-loud either, but he knew he had been wrong and that knowledge in his heart simply devastated Hiashi more than any strike or injury could.


	12. Just Being Kids

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters used in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: Hey guys, I am glad you all are enjoying this story as much as I am writing it! In the next few chapters a lot of questions which have been asked are going to be answered and I think you all will like what's coming! Please keep the reviews coming and I hope you enjoy Chapter 12!

**Chapter 12: Just Being Kids**

**The Academy**

Naruto and Hinata had been training under Jiraiya for nearly nine months and their classes at the academy had been going much better, in particular thanks to the extra study time with Iruka-sensei. But something still bothered Naruto, Sasuke was always so distant. He rarely spoke and spent most of his time training.

When Naruto had asked if he would like to train with him again he had refused, claiming that he needed a stronger rival than Naruto, and couldn't be held back by the dobe. Finally one day Naruto decided he had had enough for Sasuke's attitude when they were leaving class he blocked his exit.

"Sasuke, I don't know what stick you have up your rear but you need to remove it now before it gets you in trouble man!" Naruto told him directly.

Most of the class had left by then and it was simply Naruto, Iruka, Sasuke, Hinata, and of course Ino and Sakura. Ino and Sakura both were appalled that anyone would talk to their Sasuke like that!. "How dare you Naruto! Apologize now to Sasuke!" Ino had said. "You're so jealous its sick you little squirt!" Sakura had accused him.

However, Sasuke looked at Naruto and his dark eyes filled with anger, he remember it was his brother who had left him alive and it did not fail to be remembered that his brother had promoted his friendship with Naruto. Naruto looked into those hate filled eyes and saw the soul beyond them. The darkness that had tainted the child, the hate which filled him, and could see something beyond even that.

"What do you know about it, out of my way dobe, I have training to do." Sasuke told him and as he took a step forward Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I might not have a clan or family like you did, and I can't know what it was like to lose them, but you don't have to do it alone man. Sagie keeps telling reminding me about teamwork, he tells me constantly we'll be gennin in just over a year, and if we want to survive we have to work together, that's what being shinobi is about, teamwork!" Naruto spoke calmly to Sasuke, his bright eyes trying to see the friend he had once hoped to have.

Sasuke looked at the hand on his shoulder and shrugged it off, "I don't need friends, I need strength to destroy my enemy. You're right, you have no clue what it was like to lose everyone I cared about. My brother suggested I make up my own mind about you, he was the one who promoted our friendship. And now he's gone and with him my entire clan. Do you want to be my friend? Huh Naruto? Then when the time comes stay out of my way, I will kill Itachi, and if you aren't going to help me kill him, then you can either stay out of my way or I will kill you too."

With that Sasuke brushed past Naruto, the hate clear in his eyes and Naruto sighed. He saw Sasuke's thirst of power, his hate filled soul behind his calm façade. And as he watched the other boy leave he knew he would have to either agree to help or Sasuke would simply ignore him from then on out.

Naruto watched Sasuke leave the room and turned to Hinata and smiled. They left soon afterward to meet with Jiraiya for training, they knew if they were late he would be even worse than usual, although he was almost always late himself or busy peeping at girls so it wouldn't matter much.

**Practice Field 21**

Naruto and Hinata arrived to find Jiraiya had actually been waiting for them. That was the first indication that something important was going on. He motioned for them to sit down. They took a seat before their instructor.

"As you both know you have a little over a year you both will officially graduate from the academy to become gennin. However, your final year will not be spent at the academy. I have spoken with Iruka and the Third Hokage, rather, you both will be coming with me for that year for final training before becoming gennin.

"I know you both were expecting to stay here for the next year but some things have happened which you do not know about and I must make sure your prepared. Don't bother asking, I won't be telling you and neither will Iruka. I'll be away the next few months on a mission and leaving instructions on your training while I am gone with Iruka, but when I return we'll be leaving to start your training, so be ready."

In truth, Jiraiya had only wanted to take Naruto but he knew that Hinata would follow even if he tried to make her stay. The two kids were damn near inseparable now. It was only a matter of time and a question of which one noticed the feelings they had for the other first. It had also taken some brow beating to get the acquiescence of both Iruka and the old man hokage, but Jiraiya knew it was the right decision.

**Flashback**

Jiraiya stood before the Hokage, with Iruka there as well, explaining his decision and reasoning. "We know that the Akatsuki are highly interested in the Jinchuriki hosts and once Naruto graduates from the academy he'll be assigned to a gennin team and given missions which will take him outside of the village. The best chance the Akatsuki have at grabbing Naruto would be while he was on one of these missions. Even with a jonin with him there is a good chance he'll need to be prepared beyond the ability of the academy to handle that possible scenario. This will be my last chance to give him instruction before he graduates. We aren't talking gennin level ninja and even if you do assign him to Kakashi as his sensei he'll need all of the help he can get. The simple fact is he needs more training to prepare him. I think it's time that he was given his father's gift."

The third hokage let out a puff of smoke from his pipe, the wheels in head clearing working and gave his student a hard looked asking, "And what of Hinata Hyuga?"

Jiraiya made a face, "To be honest, I would prefer only to take Naruto but I am pretty sure Hinata would follow anyway and I am also fairly certain I can greatly enhance her ability with the juken style is she were to come as well. I am willing to accept them both for a year of training, if I don't miss my guess Hinata and Naruto would be more than willing to defend one another, so it's better that they train together anyway."

"But what about the academy?! And Preparation for the graduation exam?! They'll miss a lot of classes they need to graduate!" Iruka brought up as he realized the two would miss almost a full year of school right before the graduation exam.

"I can teach them anything they need to pass the exam Iruka, don't worry about that." Jiraiya said confidently.

"Besides, if I take them with me they won't be around to cause anymore pranks with Anko and I know we all would like to avoid getting anymore messages about those three together. My intention is to take them to the valley at the foothills of Mount Myōbokuzan for training. There they will be safe and close enough in case you need to reach me. There is also plenty of food and it's near the toads if we need sparring partners."

Jiraiya certainly seemed to have thought this through and his reasoning was sound. The third hokage, after a few more questions on the training Jiraiya had in mind, finally agreed and Iruka was more or less forced into agreement once the hokage had made the decision, there was little choice the chunnin had in it.

**End Flashback**

"So I want you two to be ready when I get back ok?" Jiraiya told them.

Naruto and Hinata nodded and he dismissed them for the day instructing them to simply have fun and enjoy themselves. However Naruto didn't go to have fun as Jiraiya has instructed him. Rather he went to a particular training field where he saw a raven haired boy dressed in a blue jacket and black clothing training.

He had asked Hinata to meet him in an hour at Kurenai's because he knew he had to do this alone without her and it was odd not having her constant presence. But as he walked out of the trees and looked at Sasuke Uchiha, he saw the hate and injury there. It wasn't hard to see if you actually looked, the boy had witnessed his entire clan massacred by his brother and he had never had anyone really help him through it.

"What do you want dobe, I'm busy." Sasuke told him as he went back to throwing Kunai knives.

"I'll help you." Naruto told him.

Sasuke stopped and turned his head, studying the other boy for a moment before vanished in a burst of speed to bring a kunai against Naruto's throat. Naruto had expected as much of a reaction and caught Sasuke's hand before he could reach him and held him.

"I have three condition though Sasuke," Naruto told him.

"Whats that dobe?" Sasuke asked as he let his kunai knife fall down.

"One, after you kill Itachi, you let it go, the anger, the hate, you move past it and live your own life." Sasuke nodded, he could live with that.

"Second, you earn your power the old fashion way, training and working together, no short cuts got it?" Sasuke nodded again, something he could live with and already intended.

"Finally, I want you to tell me what happened that night, everything. If I am going to help you, I want to know everything."

At this Sasuke stopped and stared at Naruto. The first two conditions he could live with, he had planned as much on his own anyway. But to tell Naruto about that night? Possibly relive it in his own mind? That was almost too much for him. Sasuke turned to face Naruto and the dark eye'd boy looked into the azure eyes of the other and saw the honesty which existed there.

In life there are a few moments where someone makes a decision that will change who they are entirely, they are a crossroads in their lives and for Sasuke this was one of his. He could either accept Naruto's help, tell him the truth of the night, or he could reject him and go his own way. In the end Sasuke Uchiha, the proud and last heir to the Uchiha bloodline was overcome by one simple emotion, loneliness. He was tired of being utterly, completely alone, and even if it meant facing that one night again, the young boy needed someone to actually hear his story, not listen to it and hold him while he crying, but hear it and see it through his eyes and understand his pain.

At one time Sasuke had considered this boy as a possible friend, a rival perhaps, and now that same boy stood there offering to accept his conditions to help him kill his brother. Asking to know about that night, the night he had last everything, it seemed a fair exchange from a tactical stand point, Sasuke knew that, but he also knew his heart was wrapped around that night and relived it every day.

"On one condition, when the fight comes, I kill Itachi, no one else interferes. Got it dobe?" Naruto nodded, he figured Sasuke would feel that way.

"Fine, meet me tomorrow evening, sun-down, right here got it?" Again Naruto nodded and he turned and left the practice field. The young Uchiha returned to his training.

**The Next Evening**

Naruto arrived just as instructed by Sasuke. The Uchiha was already there, early as always. He nodded to Naruto in greeting and began to walk toward his old home. Naruto simply followed and the two walked in silence.

It wasn't long before the two boys arrived at the main street through what had once been the Uchiha district. The entire district was silent, the lamps glowed in the dark and damage had been repaired and the blood stains removed, but the complete lack of sound gave the street an eerie feel. Even after several years the place looked more like a grave as dust coated everything than a district in the village. They stopped outside of a house that Naruto knew had once been Sasuke's. He stood there, the events obviously replaying through his head.

Sasuke was silent for a long time, Naruto waited patiently. Some people would probably wonder why Naruto had come here, why he was so concerned with the Uchiha boy. After all, he owed Sasuke nothing, they were barely friends and most of the time Sasuke ignored Naruto. So why was Naruto standing there in that street?

What those people didn't realize was because Naruto had been so hated, because he was glared and cursed at every day, simply the way he had grown up had given him an understanding of pain in others. He saw the pain and Sasuke, much as he had once seen it in Hinata, and he knew the pain of being alone and had felt it himself. It was something that he simply could not walk away from without trying to help.

And so Naruto stood there, on the silent street, the wind lightly lapping at his jacket as darkness settled around him. He waited for Sasuke to replay the events of that night to him, waited for him to express the events from his eyes.

"I came downstairs, I heard a commotion in the house. I found Itachi there standing over my parents, both of them were dead, leaning over one another. Itachi laughed at me, asked if I could avenge them. It was if insanity had taken him. His katana was coated in blood, I've never seen so much blood. He terrified me, my brother in his shinobi gear, he looked like death itself.

"I ran outside, like a coward, I ran outside and saw bodies. All around here there were bodies." Sasuke began to point out locations with his hands, "My cousins, my aunts, my uncles, everyone was dead around me. And Itachi was laughing through it all. He kept taunting me, challenging me, demanding me to fight him and laughing when I tried. Then he did something with his eyes, they changed, he told me had killed his best friend Shisui who had gone missing and by doing it he had become more powerful.

"He told me he had unlocked something called the Mangekyō Sharingan. He told me I was the only other one capable of obtaining it. And he left me alive to kill him. He told me to fill my heart with hate and to feed my hate, to become strong, to come after him when I was ready, to kill him.

"My brother left me alive for one reason, to kill him. To avenge our clan on him, do you know why I brought you here Naruto? So you could understand fully the power my brother has. Every single one of my family had the Sharingan and he killed them all in a single night. No one could stop him, he was too powerful and he left me alive to come kill him.

"So I fill my heart with hate, I will find him and kill him, I will rebuild my clan and bring back what he has taken from me, do you understand Naruto?"

Sasuke's eyes were tearing as he replayed that night in his mind. He saw his brother again before him, he saw the hate in his eyes, the bodies of his clan. He saw everything around him and he relieved every moment before Naruto.

Naruto had listened carefully and saw the size and expanse of the Uchiha district of Konoha and could only imagine the power of a single person capable of wiping so many out in a single night. Sasuke continued, telling him the details of the night, everything, he left nothing out. It was as if the night was burned into his mind and with each word he seemed to lose himself more and more.

The more Sasuke talked, the more he seemed to become lost, his mind contained within that night, and just as it seemed he might snap he felt his body hurled from his feat and the pain in his face as he struck the dirt. Naruto stood over him, his hand in a fist.

"Stop Sasuke, you have to stop. You're living that night over and over, if you keep going you'll go insane. You can't forget but you have to move on. If you live that night every night then you'll drive yourself nuts. Come on man, don't let Itachi win!"

"Itachi?... Win?" Sasuke asked, he was stunned, no one had managed to hit him in years. And his mind was still caught up in the dreamscape of that night as he listened to Naruto.

"Sagie told me once, if you can't move past a horrible pain in the past it consumes you and devours you. You have to move past it, if you don't, Itachi wins. He filled you with hate, with his power, not with yours. You have to fill yourself with your own power, not Itachi's! Don't let him win, be stronger than him!"

Sasuke stared at Naruto, his dark eyes held the anger, the hate of that night in them. And he slowly stood up to look at the other boy. He wasn't willing to give up his hate, but the words spoken planted a small seed in Sasuke Uchiha, it made him stop a moment and consider his course of action.

"Fill myself with my own power huh? Maybe you've got something there dobe." Sasuke finally said. The hate wasn't gone, no, it wouldn't simply go away, but the spell of that night was broken as Sasuke faced it head on. It would probably have happened over time anyway, but now Sasuke's thoughts turned to a new idea.

_Fill myself with my own power…_ Sasuke thought to himself as the two boys left behind the scene of the greatest murder in Konoha's history.

**Summer Break**

It wasn't long after Jiraiya left that the academy let out for the summer. The children came out with joy at the thought of several months with no classes, no homework, no tests! For Hinata and Naruto it would be the first summer together as friends and the first one they would get to enjoy.

Naruto also noticed that Sasuke had reverted, slightly, back to his older self before Itachi's act. He talked a bit more, and would sometimes ask Hinata and Naruto to train with him, although these were few and far between. But he seemed to smile a bit more, in his own bored way and even he seemed happy that summer break had arrived.

However, while the academy students were all joyfully celebrating their new found freedom the rest of the village began to watch every step for fear that Konoha's three great pranksters would come out in even greater force! Now that they had more free time Naruto and Hinata would meet Iruka in the mornings to receive Jiraiya's training instructions for the day, but usually that only lasted a few hours before they were free to do as they please.

Often the training was comprised of simply exercises and sparring for several hours or working with different weapons. In truth none of it was very hard and the two kids thought that it was just Jiraiya's way of making sure they did _some_ form of training while he was gone.

Unfortunately for those wary villagers they had right to be concerned because with their new freedom and with less risk of being caught by Iruka in class Anko, Naruto, and Hinata went into over-time to make sure no one would forget them while they were away for their year of training.

They pulled out all the stops from rigging ghost armor to fly through the streets to setting an army of mice loose down main-street one morning. Nothing was beyond their reach and while everyone knew the three were behind it, they could never seem to put them at the scene of the crime.

The summer was filled with festivals, training, pranks, and just fun for Hinata and Naruto. It was their chance to be kids and truly enjoy themselves. Often Kurenai and Iruka would smile and wish them best as they treated them to ramen or cinnamon rolls or walked along the summer festival with them.

It was the summer that Naruto and Hinata began to finally make a few friends among the other members of their class. In particular Chōji Akimichi, Shino Aburame and Shikamaru Nara were natural friends with Hinata and Naruto. Choji and Naruto would often have ramen eating contests cheered on by Shino and Shikamaru with Hinata giggling in the background. Shino was almost always the winner when they played Hide and Seak, and Shikamaru was the expert as getting out of work.

Shino's quiet demeanor and Shikamaru's opinion that everything was simply, "too bothersome," and that he'd rather nap hit home with Naruto and Hinata's needs for the summer, they wanted to relax and enjoy things before they had to leave with Jiraiya. Kurenai and Iruka were glad to see them making friends and believed that they had a right to act like kids for at least one summer and didn't push them too hard to train.

"They need to be kids at some point," Kurenai told Iruka as they watched the group playing a game one day.

"Yeah, even though one day they'll have to fight for their lives to protect this village, what would be the point if they never understand what it was that this village stood for? Let them be kids, even if it's for a short time." Iruka had responded and they chose to allow Naruto and Hinata to simply be kids that summer.

They often watched as the children did the normal things children do. They played games together, sat and looked at clouds (Shikamaru's favorite activity), had eating contests, camped outside, and all around were friends. For the first time in a long time things felt good to the children, they had no cares or worries, and while they did train that summer, they were given a brief reprieve from the hardships they had had to carry in life.

But as the summer wore on Hinata knew she was being watched by someone. While she never caught him looking at her, in fact Hiashi was rarely seen remotely near his disinherited daughter, he had watched her closely that summer and since she had fled his house. He saw how happy she was, that she smiled and laughed, things he had almost never seen while she had been under his roof.

Her happiness brought no small amount of pain to himself as he often wondered, _Was I that poor of a father to you?_

And always she was in the company of Naruto, it did not escape Hiashi, whose eyes could see almost anything, that the blonde haired boy was the source of her smiles and laughter. She always seemed so happy to be with him and he seemed to always be there for her and watching over her.

The summer passed quickly, too quickly if you were to ask Naruto and Hinata, and it wasn't long before the day came when Jiraiya returned. He had only been gone for barely three months but he looked deeply shaken by something. He took little time in rounding the kids up and ushering them out of the village shortly after his return.

After reporting to the Hokage, Jiraiya had made sure to tell Hinata and Naruto to be ready to leave. He didn't even want to remain a single night in Konoha. Iruka and Kurenai saw the old shinobi was obviously putting on a false smile much of the time, he was bothered by something, and it was enough to shake even Lord Jiraiya, one of the legendary three.

"We have a lot of work and not much time to do it in. Make sure to pack plenty of clothes, we'll be gone for about a year and no instant ramen Naruto! Not this trip, this trip is all business and we'll be learning a lot about survival so no instant ramen, got that?! It's a five day travel to where we're going, make sure you guys are all set to go when I get back from meeting with the Hokage alright? Even if its dark out, we need to get moving right after I finish up here."

Of course, it took several hours longer than expected to leave because Jiraiya kept having to search Naruto's bag for instant ramen cups and he was sure he hadn't found them all when he finally gave up. Finally when he was satisfied that the boy had brought enough clothes, training tools, and weapons he declared they were ready to leave. Kurenai hugged them both tightly and told them to be safe and careful. Iruka had reminded them to be ready for their graduation test when they returned and that he would have their hitai-ate waiting for them.

And so it was that Hinata Hyuga left the village of Konohagakure for the first time in her life in the company of her best friend and his godfather. Naruto smiled at her as they crossed the outer gate of the village and as he saw the nervousness flutter across her face he took her small hand in his and squeezed reassuringly, he knew she was more than a little uncertain about leaving the village, she had lived there all her life, but he was looking forward to her meeting Ma and Pa and hanging out with Gamakichi again.

The trio took to the road heading toward the mountain in the distance to a secret training spot known only to Jiraiya and the toads. They looked back at Konoha one last time and waved their good-byes before turning and following the old shinobi to what they knew would be one very long year.


	13. Training and a Letter

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: I hope you all are ready because times finally coming close to graduation and the genin team assignments! While I am fairly certain on what I am going to be doing as far as the team assignments but I am curious what your opinions are on who should be Naruto and Hinata's sensei(s), if they should be on the same team, who their teammates should be or if they should be separated? I haven't written that chapter yet and even though I am fairly certain I know what I want to do I'd like to see some other ideas than my own. Thanks again for all the reviews and I hope you enjoy Chapter 13, it's got some real goodies in it for you!

**Chapter 13: Training and a Letter**

**Five Days Later at the base of Mount ****Myōbokuzan**

Jiraiya spoke little in the five days it had taken the trio to reach the base of the mountains where the toads dwelled. He seemed lost in his own thoughts and roused only enough to call a halt or to instruct his young charges on essential shinobi survival information. Naruto pointed out different tree's he had been made to memorize during his travels with Jiraiya and explain to Hinata some of what he knew about Naruto from his teaching by Ma and Pa.

Jiraiya would point out particular flowers and plants and explain they were either edible, could cure poison's, provide medicinal purposes, and once he even showed them a tree that he said could be used to make nice mint tea. Hinata made sure to always take notes of each plant or flower and many times would bring a sample and either press it or sketch it in her notebook. Naruto simply watched and tried to memorize it but after he almost ate a very poisonous berry Hinata made him also begin taking notes.

The truth was Jiraiya's mind was back on the report he had delivered to the Third Hokage.

**Flashback**

"And you're sure this is correct?" The third hokage had asked him again.

"Yes, the Akatsuki have attempted to attack several of the Jinchuriki. They have so far been unsuccessful in their attempts to obtain any of them but these attempts seemed to be more of a test of the power of the host than a true attempt to obtain the host itself. From what I can tell they aren't trying to obtain the hosts but are determining the relative strength of them. This is an obvious preparation for a future move. Also the number of members of the Akatsuki has expanded to include at least a dozen S-Ranked rogue shinobi and we were correct, Orochimaru was a member of the group but seems to have since left them.

"Even more disturbing is the knowledge that it appears Itachi Uchiha has joined the group and if they are attempting to attack Jinchuriki then I must take Naruto away immediately. Naruto is easily one of the youngest Jinchuiki hosts and at his current skill level would present little challenge to the group. The valley of the ancient toads is safe, unless the person is trained in nature energy they will be unable to find the entrance, let alone get into the village, even the Sharingan will be unable to find the way in. And within the valley the toad sages will protect us. I plan to leave immediately with Naruto and Hinata. I've already had the necessary equipment sent ahead to the valley.

"Sir, according to my reports this group is extremely powerful and highly organized, it is my recommendation to increase security immediately for the time being. If the Akatsuki are actually attacking the hosts they may come here looking for Naruto and as a former ANBU Captain Itachi knows the layout of this village better than just about anyone."

The third hokage had nodded and taken the written report dismissing his former student to do as he thought best with his godson.

**End Flashback**

_This changes things, if the Akatsuki are putting pressure on the hosts its even more important that Naruto advance his abilities, he must be able to either fight them, or more likely evade them even if he can't fight them head on,_ Jiraiya thought to himself as they came to the base of the mountain.

Jiraiya spent much of their trip thinking to the reports he had read, the destruction of the landscape he had seen from the engagements, and these would only so the Akatsuki could test the raw power of the hosts! According to his sources the Akatsuki so far had focused on single targets with little connection to villages or other shinobi, people who would be unlikely to be able to obtain help and provide them with a perfect test subject but little chance for alerting the more powerful villages or bringing reprisal on them.

Jiraiya was woken from his thoughts as the group found themselves at the base of the mountain looking all around as the trail suddenly ended leading to a rocky slope going at odd angles but providing no sign of any entrance to a valley. It was very early and the sun hadn't risen yet, they probably had another hour or two before they saw it crest the mountainside.

"Uh, Lord Jiraiya S-sir, where are we g-going to go now?" Hinata asked quietly.

Jiraiya turned and looked at the girl, "Why can't you be more like her Naruto? Always so polite!" His compliment caused Hinata to blush furiously.

"Cause I know your really a perverted old man from living with you most of my life," Naruto muttered low enough that no one else could hear him.

"Well, you see, the valley we are going to is very special. I want you to use your byakugan's abilities and tell me if you see anything."

Hinata nodded and activated her byakugan, she looked around but she saw nothing but rock, a lot of insects, animals, and the chakra systems of her best friend and his godfather but nothing else and she reported as much deactivating her byakugan.

Jiraiya nodded, "I expected as much, you see, the valley we're about to enter is protected by nature energy. Naruto, you remember Ma and Pa telling you about nature energy when you were little? Well that's what protects this valley. The rocks are infused with nature energy which blocks all ability to sense or see through them, it also makes them incredibly dense and very difficult to destroy. No one can enter without being able to feel nature energy. Think of it as a natural genjutsu, the mountain itself has been infused with nature energy so long that it's almost like a defense mechanism. Thankfully I've been trained for such a thing or else we'd never enter the valley."

With that Jiraiya walked over to a particularly large rock and stood very still for a moment before he began to push the rock out of the way slowly leaving just enough room for them to squeeze by. Once they were all past the rock they found a well cleared trail leading into the side of the mountain. Jiraiya returned the rock to its original position and the three continued into the valley itself.

It didn't take more than a few hours of walking before the valley opened up before them. It was simply breathtaking. There was a river running down the middle of the valley joining into a small lake at the center fed by a large waterfall from the north and both the upper ends of the valley were covered in thick trees while the middle lake was a giant field. All around were flowers and smells with such beauty it was too much to take in. It was as if someone had painted the valley into the mountain, it was such a natural beauty there was no helping but staring. The sun shone into the valley just right and the river was so clear you could see straight to the bottom.

Hinata stared at the trees and flowers, her entire face lighting up as she saw butterflies floating all around and heard the sounds of the animals moving gracefully through the forest. It was perfect. Untouched by humanity save those special chosen ones allowed in to its confines and even Naruto remained hushed as he stared in wonder at the surroundings and smiled as he saw how happy Hinata was.

She saw him looking at her and she blushed deeply returning his smile with a shy one of her own. Jiraiya called to the two children as he was already moving into the depths of the valley and they rushed after him.

_I think I might have to have a talk with Naruto soon… _Jiraiya thought to himself as he watched the two children.

They walked for the rest of the day before finally finding an end to the trees and entering the valley proper. Where the forest had been filled with trees which were all thick and old with time the meadow before them was a field of flowers and filled with wild wheat and strawberries. It was a riot of colors, reds, blues, greens, oranges, and purples making the meadow appear as a giant rainbow before them. The field swayed with the wind sending a shimmering affect before them as they watched and Hinata simply stood enthralled at the sight before her.

Naruto walked up next to her and remained silent. He knew his friend loved flowers, he himself enjoyed plants as well, he had several in his apartment, they had been nice companions when he was along, but Hinata's love of flowers and plants went far beyond his and he knew that must be like heaven for his friend. Jiraiya smiled at the two and nodded to them and showed them an old, worn path down toward the river to a small sight that had obviously been used in the past as a camp site.

_It always takes my breath away whenever I come here, in all my travels I have never seen a place more pristine and beautiful,_ Jiraiya thought to himself as he turned to his pupils.

"We'll be making camp here. This valley is very precious to both the mountain and the toads who live here as well. We will have to follow a few rules here: One, no fires are allowed outside of this area, I said this valley is special and we're only allowed to have fires in this small section, except when training fire jutsu. Two, we only take as much food as we need, meaning no fishing just for the fun of it. And three, if you see toads pay them respect, we are in their home here."

The two children nodded and began to unpack their gear. They had each brought a tent for themselves and a sleeping bag. They made sure to gather wood from the forest, Jiraiya said it was ok to chop a tree down now and again, but they would have to use up the fallen wood first. So Naruto and Hinata were sent to gather enough wood to last them a few days. The light was beginning to fade from the sky when they returned and found Jiraiya had caught several large fish from the river for dinner.

He nodded to them and using a simple fire jutsu Jiraiya started the fire after which Hinata promptly kicked the old man out of the way and took over the cooking of the meal.

"Neither of you are very good at cooking, so I'll handle it." She had told them.

Naruto couldn't remember when his friend had finally stopped stuttering around him, although it still happened when she got nervous or upset, but when she was confident in something, such as her cooking abilities which were top notch, she no longer stuttered and it made him smile.

Hinata also did not faint as much anymore, not the way she had when they had first met. She had truly grown in so many ways since he had met her and it amazed him. Jiraiya acquiesced quickly to the demands on the young girl, not wanting to do the cooking himself, and allowed her to do as she saw fit.

As the light was fading from the valley the three finished their meal and Jiraiya told his two pupils to follow him, leading them to a clearing next to the large waterfall. The clearing ran up to a sheer rock face and had several rocks strewn about it, ranging in size from small to large to gigantic.

Jiraiya jumped up on one of these large rocks while Naruto and Hinata seated themselves on a pair of smaller rocks before him.

"Ok kids, we're here. I'm going to explain to you now both why we're here and what we will be studying. First, the reason we're here is because it's safe. No one else can enter this valley and only a few people even know of its existence, and of those few I, you two, and one other know of its location. That makes it an ideal spot for the training we need to do since we need some quiet and uninterrupted time together.

"Hinata, after studying you for the last year I've determined it's not you that's the problem but the juken style itself. You're too flexible to be held by the rigid style you're using. In short, the juken style requires you to retain a very strict, firm base and stance while utilizing your upper body, primarily through the fists without much use by your legs or other body parts. Your problem is your body isn't built for that, I know you probably think that there has to be a problem with you because the style has been used for generations but the truth is everyone is born differently and the current style of the gentle fist was not the first.

"Your body is more flexible and when you use the gentle fist I can see you having to restrict that flexibility. You're handicapping yourself in battle because of the style of the gentle fist you're using. The gentle fist though is not the only juken style.

"The Bajiquan style, or the eight extreme fists, was created before the Juken style and it's the predecessor of the gentle fist. I first encountered it in the land of waves watching shinobi practice it in time with the waves from the ocean. It allows for you to use your entire body in a fight, legs, elbows, knee's, your entire body moves as if it is a fluid, more liquid like, flexible. You will also find that this style requires more concentration and focus of your chakra, you'll need to be able to explode chakra at the points where you strike for increased power but with your byakugan that shouldn't be a problem.

"In short, you'll be spending a lot of time next to this waterfall watching the water itself and imitating it, I have several scrolls with me as well I will be having you study which will help explain the theory behind this style. We're not here to reteach you the juken style but rather incorporating this new update into your current style ok?"

Hinata nodded to Jiraiya, she understood what he old man meant, he didn't want to retrain her but alter her current fighting enough to match her body's natural abilities and take advantage of that.

Jiraiya nodded back to her and turned to his godson, what he was about to do he wasn't sure was the right thing, the child was merely eleven years old, and he knew what he was giving him was possibly both a gift and curse, and his godson had had plenty of those already in his life. There would be no hiding him anymore from the village of the world after he finished what he did here.

Jiraiya reached inside his shirt and produced two scrolls. One he handed to Naruto and before the boy opened it he spoke, "Naruto… What I am about to do may be the greatest gift I can give you. I want you to know before you open that that I think of you as my own grandchild and your father was like a son to me. The night he died he gave me that, it is a letter to you, written by your father in the short time he had before he passed away. I've held it for you ever since that day, I was hoping that you'd be older before I gave it to you, but I believe it best if you read it now."

Naruto sat shocked, a letter from his father? Emotions he had kept trapped inside him began to threaten to surface at the mention of the man he had never known. He had rarely heard his guardian speak of his father and mother, and while he had burned with questions as most young children had, he knew his guardian simply refused to tell him much of anything, telling him to wait until he was older. Naruto looked at the scroll in his hands, the entire world seemed to fade away at that moment.

_Father…?___ Naruto thought to himself.

He had never known the man obviously, he had died the night of Naruto's birth. He had always wondered what he looked like, if he had his hair or his eyes, if he resembled him. He wondered why he had left him, if he had loved him and cared about him. The thoughts and feelings stirring inside him were as a violent torrent that assaulted his heart and he stared at the scroll in his hands.

Carefully, as if he expected the scroll the break at any moment or turn to dust, he removed the seal and opened the letter. The first thing Naruto noticed as he unwound the scroll was that portions of the scroll were darker than others, slightly wrinkled, they were tear stains. Naruto's eyes found the beginning and he began to read.

My dearest Naruto,

I wish I had more time to place my thoughts down for you, first, my son, know I am sorry. I am so sorry I am not there with you right now, not there to watch your first step, or hear your first word, or see you graduate the academy. I wish with all I am that I could be there for you but fate, it seems, has had other plans for us. Know first that I love you, my son. I love you with my whole heart and soul and all that is in my being and the mere ability to hold you in my arms was the greatest gift this world could have given me.

This was the happiest night of my life, the night you came into my life. It is also the saddest night of my life, because I must leave you. There are so many things I wish to say to you, so many pieces of wisdom I wish I could impart. But as I have little time I will only leave you with the creed I have lived my life by. First, have faith in yourself. Second, never give up, not matter how dark the outcome looks. And third, love your friends and stand by them always.

Even as I write this letter I have not left you with nothing. I have left three gifts to you my son. The first I left in the possession of mater Jiraiya, the second with Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the third is my gift to you upon the date of your graduation from the academy. Master Jiraiya will know how to locate it for you.

I have faith in you my son, my little Naruto. I place all my faith and all my love in you. You are my gift to the world and the village. I know that no matter what you will always persevere, that you will protect those who cannot protect themselves, and that when all others fall you will hold back the night. I have faith in you, my son.

To be able to see you open your eyes to this world only cements my belief that what I do this night is right. Naruto, for your future and to keep you safe I will give my life, though I know it will hurt you for years to come with the burden you must carry. Use the power I bequeath to you my son, protect the village and live your life full and happy. I bequeath my will to you, for you are my son, the son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.

I love you with all I am,

Minato Namikaze

Tears began to run down Naruto's cheeks as his body was overwhelmed with the flood of emotion. He had a father, he knew had had one of course, but now he felt like he truly had a father, that his father had loved him dearly and wanted him. Tears began to cover his face as the boy cried, the flood of emotion too much for him as he felt the wall he had built keeping such feelings from his mind crash around him. All the questions he had once asked when he lay awake at night wondering about his parents, who they were, why they left him, so many where answered in the simply letter before him.

And suddenly Hinata was there with her arms around him, holding him close and head resting on her shoulder as he cried and cried. She did not read the letter, she knew he would tell her what it said later, but for the moment he cried out the frustration of years of wondering and a piece of Naruto's heart where his parents should have been, a hole he had always ignored and buried, began to be filled by the knowledge that his parents had loved him and given everything they had to keep him safe.

Jiraiya watched his godson, he knew how he felt, he missed Minato dearly and had wished many times over the years he had been the one to give his life that night, but Minato wouldn't let anyone else sacrifice himself, he said it was his responsibility as Hokage. After Naruto finally began to cry himself out he looked at his godfather, his face was red from crying and Hinata was still next to him, holding him close to her.

Jiraiya wanted more than anything to pick him up and tell him everything would be alright, but he knew he couldn't. It would be a lie, everything would not be alright. Minato was still dead and nothing could bring him back, no matter how much they might wish it otherwise. And Naruto had Hinata there with him, she would be much better at comforting the boy than he was.

Finally the tears ceased and the light from the valley began to finally recede toward complete darkness. Naruto sat there, holding his friend Hinata, his head on her shoulder rising to look at his guardian.

Jiraiya waited for the question he knew was coming. Naruto looked at his guardian before speaking, "The letter said you were given something for me?"

Jiraiya nodded, "That's why we are here Naruto. Your father bequeathed two jutsu techniques to you. One complete, and one left incomplete. This next year I will spend teaching you the ability that gave him his nickname, The Yellow Flash. I am going to teach you the Flying God Thunder Technique. I have with me the only scroll in existence explaining the technique, it was his wish that you be taught this technique as his heir. And while I would rather have waited, its time you came into your inheritance."


	14. Training in the Valley of the Toads

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: Hey guys, glad you all enjoyed Chapter 13 so much! This chapter is a good bit longer than the previous ones. I do want to clear one thing up because some people mentioned Naruto and the Rasengan, Naruto does not have the Rasengan yet in my story. He's been taught the first two steps (unknown to him) by Jiraiya when he was younger, if you recall the leaf training he did, but does not have the actual technique. I'm trying hard to balance Naruto as more advanced without being overpowered so I really appreciate everyone who has shown some concern with that. I think you'll find this chapter explains things a lot more for the training involved.

Author's Note Cont.: I have narrowed Naruto's sensei down to two choices, I won't say who but I appreciate everyone's comments, I am still unsure who I want to put on the team with Naruto, I've gone through several different combinations so far and have an idea what I want, I am looking for a good balanced team, much like how they put the original team together. So if you have an idea and would like me to consider someone please feel free to let me know in a review or something! Enjoy Chapter 14!!

**Chapter 14: Training in the Valley of the Toads **

Silence consumed them as the only noise to be heard was from the waterfall. There was nothing to be said, they simply waited for Jiraiya to speak. Jiraiya looked directly at Naruto, he could see the adjustments being made in the boys mind, accepting this new information. He gave him a moment to absorb it before speaking again.

"This will not be easy, and we'll be training in taijutsu as well as ninjutsu while we're here at night. This technique is extremely powerful and dangerous, and it is nothing like you've had to learn before. Your going to have to start from scratch with basic seals so as to understand the jutsu completely, no short cuts. Also we'll be practicing your taijutsu while we're here. At night we will focus on taijutsu training and Naruto, right now you do not have an actual style of fighting, quite honestly with your conditioning I am going to set you to learning the basic style of the Heihuquan. This style if a mixture of several different sets focusing on a lower stance with aerobatic kicks and more explosive footwork, it also focuses on external body conditioning which turns to internal conditioning over time.

"Your current temperament wouldn't suit a more relaxed style, so I decided we should try something more movement based. However this is a secondary function of why we are here. At best I'll be giving you minor instruction in the Heihuquan, we're here to give you the basic knowledge to perform the Flying God Thunder technique."

Jiraiya jumped down from his rock and walked over to his godson, his face became oddly sentimental and his he looked so much older, so tired for a moment, as a gentle smile crossed his face and placed his hand on Naruto's head, ruffling his hair he looked into his eyes before speaking.

"You look just like him you know, blonde hair, blue eyes, your faith in people, but man, you act just like you mom a real firehead always putting her heart into everything. You really did inherit both of their wills and the will of fire of Konoha."

Jiraiya stood up and yawned, "Time to get some rest, let's head back to camp, we have a big day tomorrow after all, what we're doing will be very difficult and we need to get some sleep."

And with that Jiraiya began his walk back toward their camp site, however he left alone as Naruto and Hinata remained behind. Naruto wasn't ready to leave yet, he rewound the scroll and replaced the seal on it, it was possibly the most precious thing he owned then and he was still too shocked to move.

_Minato Namikaze, the fourth hokage, my father? I have a father and he loved me!_ Naruto thought to himself over and over again.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Hinata asked quietly. She hadn't moved from her place beside him. She felt the waves of emotion roll through his body, she felt the pain, the remorse, the loss, the love, and the pure, unbridled joy at the knowledge given to him. Everything he had held back for eleven years came forth that night. His body was leaning against her and she supported him as best she could, the way he had always supported her.

_Naruto, I am here for you, the way you were always there for me, please be alright_, Hinata thought to herself.

And it was at this moment, while sitting there with the boy who was her best friend, Hinata began to recognize the warm feeling in her stomach. The thoughts of all the times they had been together, his smiling face, the way he made her laugh, his letters, the small items he had always sent her, his determination, his faith in people they came to her mind from her heart. The same feeling that had always been there before, it made her feel so good being near him and it felt empty when he was away. She merely wanted to be near him, close to him.

_What is this feeling?_ Hinata thought to herself.

Hinata let the feelings wash over her as she began to realize she liked her best friend as more than a friend. And in that setting, as he leaned on her for support right then, she knew she would not change anything in her life, the hate from her father, the abuse, all the decisions in her life, they all were worth it to be sitting here with him to her. And with that Hinata realized her feelings went beyond friendship, she realized that she never wanted to leave that spot right then or his side.

And as Naruto held the letter in his hands he hugged his best friend back, completely unaware of the emotions inside her as his own raged at the new found knowledge in his life. He looked at his friend, the rising moon framing her face, and the purple highlights in her hair against the backdrop of the waterfall and couldn't help but think how beautiful she was and smiled at her.

"I'll be ok Hinata, thank you." And he hugged back tightly.

They smiled at one another and blushed again before rising and beginning the walk back to their camp. Naruto told her what the letter had said, he told her about his father being the fourth hokage, and he told her he now knew who he was in a way her had never known before. And for the first time in his life, Naruto got to talk about his father.

Year's later people would wonder if it was that moment that Naurto realized his feelings for Hinata as well, but they'd be sadly mistaken. Naruto was as oblivious as ever to his best friend's feelings and, in fact, was rather oblivious to any girl who might have liked him. Right at that moment he was entirely consumed by the new found knowledge of his lineage.

But Hinata had learned to be patient and the seed which had finally begun to burst from the soil of their friendship into something more was still young, she could wait for him to come around. She knew Naruto better than anyone else, and was well aware of how dense he was about such things. And inwardly she smiled at being given the gift of his company for so many years and his friendship. The two friends retired for the evening to fall into a deep sleep where Naruto dreamt of his father and mother and Hinata began to dream about Naruto.

**The Next Morning**

Naruto awoke to find his guardian and best friend already awake. They were going over several scrolls explaining the theory's behind the Bajiquan style. They looked up as Naruto exited his tent and waved at them. Hinata blushed deeply as the thoughts of the previous evening went through her head.

Naruto grabbed some of the breakfast that Hinata had made and while he was munching Jiraiya finished explaining her task for the day.

"Ok Hinata, I want you to study the rest of these scrolls while I talk to Naruto ok?" Hinata nodded and turned back to the scrolls in front of her as she continued reading.

Jiraiya motioned for Naruto to follow him and began walking along the river's edge as his godson followed. Jiraiya frowned to himself, he still was unsure he was doing the right thing, not even he had managed to completely understand the technique which Minato had used. He had read the scroll of course and attempted it, but he questioned if anyone other than Minato could have actually used it.

_In truth, I am not sure teaching him this technique is the right decision, I have a lot of doubts in anyone's ability to be able to master this technique, but there is a good chance I won't have another opportunity like this to teach him. Even the Rasengan is easier than this jutsu, but unlike this technique, Kakashi can instruct him on the Rasengan if something happens. Right now I am the only one who knows this technique, and I can't actually use it successfully, even to me, its all theory. _Jiraiya thought to himself as he continued on the path before stopping at a grass spot beside the river.

"Naruto, I want you to understand something, I do not expect you to be able to master this jutsu within the year available to us. In fact, I expect if you do manage to master it will be several years from now when you are older, this is an S-Ranked jutsu and was your father's most powerful ability. Not even I can do it. But I believe a time is coming when you will need this knowledge, understand?"

Naruto nodded remaining quiet as his guardian spoke to him before voicing his question, "But, if I'm not expected to master it then what good is it right now? And should I be learning something useful then!"

"Listen up kid, just because you can't master it right now doesn't mean you won't be able to in the future. Right now we have an opportunity to give you a head start, when you become a genin and begin missions I won't have the luxury of training you personally for long, uninterrupted periods of time and no one else can help you with this. Your father gave me this scroll personally, he told me it was the only one in existence and I'm the only person to have studied it, and as I said I can't actually use the jutsu. Right now, I am the only person who can instruct you on this jutsu and you need that instruction if you want any hope of mastering it now or in the future, understand?"

Naruto nodded to his guardian.

"This technique is not based on the amount of Chakra you have, in fact, it requires no use of chakra at all. Minato designed this ability to be based off the idea of reverse summoning, you know how you summon Gamakichi? Well, he could also summon you to him if the situation required it and that is called reverse summoning. This technique allows you to place a seal on an item, such a kunai knife, a person, or anything and, effectively, summon yourself to the item. Also while you have that seal on an item, once it strikes the ground you will always know where that seal is and be able to sense those around the seal. This is not an increase in speed, it is actual teleportation.

"At its very heart you're summoning yourself to that item or person, or teleporting yourself. The key to this technique is the seal and secondary seal on the jutsu itself. As I said, I do not expect you to master this technique, in fact the next year we will be focusing your studies on seals and jutsu surrounding them to give you a base to be able to master this technique in the future."

Jiraiya took off his back pack at the side of the river and removed from it a large stack of paper, a brush and ink pot. He then set them down next to a very smooth rock and took out a scroll. Opening the scroll he placed it on the rock.

"Before you are ready for the technique I am going to show you, I want you to focus on the seals in that scroll, they are basic paper bomb seals. I want you to imbue the paper with your chakra as the scroll instructs. Before I even let you near the scroll from your father you have to show me you can create basic seals understand? Most shinobi take for granted small things like paper bombs, we get them so readily from the seal and weapons masters, but you have to understand how the chakra is stored in the paper behind the seal so that the energy can be released on the moment the shinobi wishes. I'll be back in a few hours to see your progress." And with a wave Jiraiya began walking back toward their camp.

_This is going to be hard for you Naruto, you have to be patient and learn the basics first. The only reason I can even consider this is because you're so used to summoning the toads and this technique is so similar. But even with that similarity it's going to be incredibly difficult,_ Jiraiya thought as he left a very bored Naruto to copy seal after seal.

And so the first day of training passed for Naruto and Hinata. Naruto sat by the rock reading the scroll over and over, copying the seal and attempting to understand the basics of sealing chakra into the paper and then reactivating it. Jiraiya would show up every few hours to explain something or provide a small amount of guidance, but he always told Naruto, "This is something you simply have to learn on your own, I won't be there to create the seals on your kunai knives for you. You have to be able to feel this and understand it entirely. I will help some, but you have to do a lot of this on your own."

Hinata's day wasn't much better as she read the scrolls to try and understand the theory behind the Bajiquan style. It was similar enough to the gentle fist but it differed in some startling ways. Where the Juken style required a firm stance and rock hard base the Bajiquan was about flexibility, it described keeping the legs relaxed and knees bent. Where the Juken focused on direct contact with the palms and fingers of the hand the Bajiquan used elbows, knees, and feet as well as the palms and hands. Hinata immediately saw the possibilities with the alterations to the Juken style and both its ups and downs.

And thus the next week was filled more with theories and discussion rather than practical training. Every day began the same, Jiraiya, Naruto, and Hinata would all get up as the dawn was breaking, eat a quick breakfast, then Hinata would sit to studying her scrolls and Naruto would focus on creating paper bombs. At night Naruto was assigned scrolls on the theories behind the Heihuquan style while Hinata worked at forcing chakra from chakra points on her knee's, elbows, feet, and legs. Jiraiya refused to allow them to begin practical training until they each demonstrated a basic understanding of what he was going to be teaching them.

At first Naruto's paper bombs did little more than fizzle and create a large amount of smoke or wouldn't go off when they were supposed too, this caused some issues when a bag full of what they thought to be dud paper bombs suddenly all went off together one night in the middle of their camp. Thankfully they were from Naruto's first batch and mostly just smelled bad and caused some smoke damage but by the end of the week he seemed to finally be able to create stable paper bombs. They were not very powerful but they exploded like regular paper bombs, could be activated using hand signs from a distance, and were of decent quality.

Once Naruto demonstrated to them that he could make the paper bombs Jiraiya set him to improving them and told him to work on different variations.

"Very good Naruto, you might be able to scare an old lady with them. Now that you have some of the basics down I want you to work on variations while improving the ones you already are making. In the scroll are designs for Smoke and Sound bombs. I want you to make both variations with the normal paper bombs." Jiraiya had told him, he wouldn't let the boy rest for a moment.

Naruto grunted his response and sat back down to making more paper bombs. He had never hated paper bombs so much in his life. His training in the Heihuquan style wasn't progressing any better. After a week he was still having trouble with the basic forms. He understood the idea, move from one stance to the aerobatic kick, flow to the straight punch, back to the stance and to another kick, but Naruto had trouble getting it down.

Up to this point Naruto had always fought using his own thrown together techniques with no thought to styles and now he was being forced to confine himself to a particular set of movements. It was very different for him.

Hinata's training was going much the same, just as she thought she was getting an understanding of the Bajiquan theory Jiraiya took her back to the side of the waterfall and explained her the next part of her assignment as he draw several dozen circles in the ground with a piece of chalk.

"Ok Hinata, you're used to the Juken style, so we have to break you out of that mental state. Your mind is used to flowing its strict principles and guidelines, our goal is to free you of that. See the water? I want you to practice the Bajiquan basic techniques inside these circles, I've spaced them out on purpose and this chalk I am using is special, if your arms or a body part moves past the circle it will flash red and you have to start over. The Bajiquan style requires a lot of movement, similar to the motion of water at the ocean or ripples on a lake surface, it's very similar to a dance. Now watch me."

Jiraiya then went through and showed her several basic excersizes for the style. Legs bent, constant motion of the arms and elbows and legs. His feet danced from one circle to another, each circle was only as big as the movement should be, he told her, her hands should not go past the circle, and no part of her body should leave the circle until the movement was completed.

She was amazed at the fluidity of the moves, he'd strike with his right palm only to turn it into a strike with his left elbow to flow into a fluid kick. He showed her twice and had Hinata go through the dance three times to make sure she had it down before leaving her to practice. He would return every few hours to check on her and advise her on her movements.

At night they would continue their training. Sometimes Jiraiya would have them spar as a team against him, sometimes they would spar each other, and on rare nights he would have them practice jutsu. In particular he focused on wind and water jutsu's, they were simple things, such as the Water Whip or the Wind Cutter, but he told them they would be building blocks for later.

And so the days passed, each time the two thought they had gained a handle on things Jiraiya quickly would heap an additional challenges on them. Once Naruto had the variations down Jiraiya told him to come up with a new paper bomb all of his own creation. Once Hinata had the dance down perfectly where she could do it with her eyes closed he ran wiring through the circles so she had to complete the dance perfectly while avoiding the wire, all without her byakugan.

When Hinata had mastered that he told her to do the dance on the water forcing her to combine her chakra control into the dance as well. And when Naruto finally managed to create his own version of the paper bomb which, he felt, was far superior to the normal paper bombs because he had managed to increase the radius of the blast while decreasing the size of the paper bomb (in truth this had already been done before and wasn't very difficult but it forced Naruto to think about what he was doing rather than simply copy) Jiraiya handed him a more advanced scroll for sealing jutsu on how to place weapons into a scroll to be summoned.

Naruto's training with the Heihuquan style also increased in pace, at night he when he would spar with Hinata or Jiraiya he was required to use only the stances and forms of the Heihuquan style, and if he didn't he would be forced to run laps around the lake, normally joined by Hinata.

And so it continued, day in and day out for nearly four months and in that time Naruto and Hinata rarely were given free time, when they were they spent it asleep as they training would go well into the night and they were expected to rise early in the morning, usually before dawn. Jiraiya pushed his pupils hard and long, from before sun up to well past sundown, they worked but they also learned.

Finally after a third of a year had passed since they entered the valley Jiraiya told them their training schedule would be changing.

"Naruto, you'll be working on sealing jutsu in the morning and begin working Gamakichi in the afternoon on summoning and reverse summoning and continue sparring with Hinata in the evening. Hinata, you will continue your normal training in the morning and I will begin working with you on the next level of jutsu which combines the techniques you've been practicing in the afternoon, and sparring in the evening, understand?"

They nodded without complaint, if it meant less writing Naruto was more than happy to be doing it!

The next day, after Jiraiya made sure Naruto was hard at work on making more seals and working at placing kunai knives into scrolls, he took Hinata down to the lake side. The lake itself was beautiful, it sparkled in the morning and the water was completely clear to the bottom of the lake. Toads could be seen swimming in the lake often and many times would stop by and chat with the trio or offer recommendations on their fighting forms.

"Hinata, you've been learning about the Bajiquan dance for a while now, you can do it in your sleep. Now, the next step is combining the water whip and the Bajiquan style you've been learning. What you do is focus your chakra into the water and raise it with you as you strike and move. If done properly you will be able to not only strike with the water itself but it will provide a shield from incoming strikes creating offense and defense at the same time."

As Jiraiya spoke he stepped onto the water to demonstrate, he started with the usual stance and brought his leg up for a straight kick only the water came with him following his foot! He flowed to the next strike on the right hand picking up the water from the foot and bringing it with him into the strike and so on to the next move and the next, the water flowed with the movement itself!

As he moved Jiraiya continued to explain how the water worked in combination with the forms.

"As you can see the water is moving with me, over time you'll learn you harden the water into steel or ice and be able to shield yourself or even throw it increasing your ranged attacked. It's very similar in theory to the water whip. You spread your chakra into the water molecules and mold it to your needs."

Hinata watched in wonder at the beauty, grace and power of the movements before Jiraiya finished and told her to try it. After first Hinata had a lot of trouble, she kept trying but the water wouldn't follow her the way it had Jiraiya.

"Its ok, just concentrate and focus, don't do anything other than try and have the water follow your movements from your chakra points. I don't expect you to be able to do it perfectly the first time around. Just keep trying and remain focused ok? I'm going to check on Naruto and make sure he and Gamakichi aren't messing around, I'll be back soon. Also don't push yourself past exhaustion, watch your chakra levels, I don't want you dropping from exhaustion. This is difficult stuff and you've come a long way already."

And as Jiraiya was turning to leave he had a thought and he yelled to a toad as he walked along the lake sure and asked them to keep an eye on the girl to make sure she was safe. The toad agree'd and Jiraiya was off to find Naruto and Gamakichi.

As he expected Naruto and Gamakichi had been playing around. He found them both in the river splashing each other back and forth. He immediately put them back to work watching them. When Gamakichi obviously was having trouble with the reverse summoning, being a young toad still, Jiraiya summoned Ma and Pa instead to help the boys.

"Alright, let us get this here training going!" Pa had said and proceeding to launch into a long winded explination on how summoning and reverse summoning worked to the two of them.

While Pa was explaining to the two boys what they would need to work on Ma pulled Jiraiya away.

"Jiraiya-boy, dontcha think he's a bit young for this kind of training? I know you want him to be Minato but he's not, he doesn't have the same natural talent and ability, sure he's come a long way but he's still only eleven."

Ma was clearly concerned Jiraiya was pushing things too far too quickly.

"I've asked myself the same question many times, but I don't think we're going to get another chance like this. He needs this knowledge if he wants any chance of succeeding with this jutsu in the future. And I am not sure I'll have this luxury in the future to teach him like this, we need you and Pa's help to succeed at this. I don't expect him to master it but I can hope to give him the tools to master it in the future."

Ma nodded, understanding his reasoning and set herself to the task of helping Pa explain, in more simple terms, how summoning and reverse summoning worked.

Again Jiraiya wondered if he was making the right decision and if he shouldn't have simply taught the boy the rasengan and been done with it. But as he saw Naruto and Gamakichi working with Ma and Pa and beginning to understand the way summoning and reverse summoning worked, he saw the determination in his eyes,he knew that Naruto had the potential to master this techinique, maybe not right that moment but sometime in the future he could do it.

In the evenings Jiraiya continued their sparring lessons, he could see Naruto was finally becoming accustomed to the forms of the Heihuquan style. His footwork had improved tremendously and he was able to move from kick to palm thrust, to kick to fist strike in a much more fluid manner, although it was obvious he still had difficulty controlling his movements entirely and when paired against Hinata he looked like a toddler against a ballerina.

The next quarter year passed and Ma and Pa, the toad sage's, became more and more involved with Naruto and Hinata. At first Hinata was rather shy around the sage's, but after Ma had given Hinata some tips on cooking in the wild and they began to discuss a subject Hinata understood she warmed up to them.

"Now you see sweeties, some natural honey-suckle into this stew, and some wild garlic, and you give it a great taste!" Ma had explained to her as she and Hinata exchanged recipes and cooking tips.

Pa worked with Naruto and Gamakichi on summoning and reverse summoning while Ma worked with Hinata on water jutsu. The children advanced very quickly now that they had the toad sage's working with them. Jiraiya was a great teacher but he was splitting his time and with the toad sage's helping he was able to provide much greater instruction.

At the eighth month of training he once again announced a change to their training schedule.

"After discussing it with the toad sage's I've decided to let you start designing the seals for the jutsu Naruto. This part of the seal is what you will send yourself too, you'll be summoning yourself to this seal. It will need to be infused with a portion of your chakra and you'll need to understand the hand signs required for summoning yourself to it. Also, I'm going to show you how to advance your Heihuquan movements with some more advanced movements.

"Hinata, Ma has said she wants to show you some new water jutsu she's cooked up. So I'll be letting her take over your training for the last four months we are here."

The children nodded and after dinner Jiraiya told them to relax a bit and enjoy the night. It was a beautiful night out and the first time since arriving that they had a chance to actually enjoy the surroundings. They decided to go to the lake and play around in the sand with Gamakichi who had decided it would just be easier if he stayed with them the entire time rather than being summoned every day.

As they ran to the lake Naruto had a great idea and pulled off his shirt and headed right for the water.

"Yay! Come on Hinata, the water feels great!" Naruto yelled from the lake as he had already jumped in.

Hinata blushed so deeply you could see it in the darkness of the night. She smiled shyly at her friend who had tossed his clothes aside before jumping in and was standing half naked before her.

As Naruto was standing there Gamakichi jumped onto his head and yelled as well, "Yo! Come on Hinata, its fun!"

Hinata blushed and said she didn't really want to swim after dinner but that didn't stop Naruto who sent a chakra infused wave of water crashing over to her soaking her thoroughly. She fumed at him while he and Gamakichi laughed.

"Oh You Two!!! Damn it, Boys!" She said and stormed away soaked to dry by the fire.

"You know bud, she's growing up isn't she?" Gamakichi said as he jumped off Naruto's head.

"Huh, what ya mean Gamakichi? It's Hinata." Naruto was conifused by the statement and question.

Gamakichi laughed, "Man, Naruto, you really are clueless aren't ya?"

Naruto shrugged and splashed his toad friend with water, they laughed and splashed around for a while before they returned to the camp. He apologized to Hinata who was drying herself by the fire. She sighed and accepted.

_I just can't stay mad when he smiles like that, damn him!_ Hinata thought to herself.

Naruto went on to bed thinking about what Gamakichi had said.

_What does he mean I'm clueless?_ Naruto wondered and resolved to ask his godfather next time he thought about it.

The next day Hinata was taken by Ma back down to the lake where she showed her a new water jutsu she could work on as a strong combination to the Water Dance, as Hinata had come to call her new jutsu and fighting style combination, which Ma called the Water Needle Jutsu.

"Now, with your juken style chakra control you should have no trouble with this. You've already gotten used to work the water into a water whip and in your water dance to shield you from attacks after your strikes. The water needle jutsu is where you create several needle like objects from the water itself, much like the whip, only you need to focus more chakra into the needles because they won't be a single part of you.

"The needles will be thrown over a distance and thus you need more chakra control to maintain their shape and solidity. Now watch."

Ma took a deep breath and made a hand sign, "Ninja Art: Water Needle Jutsu!" And Hinata was amazed as three perfect needles rose from the water and Ma threw them at a rock only to have them bore right through the rock! Ma smiled and told Hinata to try.

This was very different from the water whip and Hinata had to maintain a greater amount of focus on the water and imbue more of her chakra into the water itself. When she finally was able to maintain their shape, which looked more like water blobs, and throw them they fell apart mid-flight and did nothing but splash on the ground.

"It's alright sweetie, it takes time and practice, and that's why we're here after all. Once you can do this you can turn a defense into a simultaneous attack with your water dance. You have a stream of water coming up as a shield and send water needles right out of it. Now, that's a good ways away but by combining the techniques later on you'll find it's very effective."

Meanwhile Naruto, Jiraiya and Pa were working on the seals Naruto would need to create to be able to summon himself somewhere. Naruto was able to manage most intermediary sealing jutsu, although the more advanced intermediary were still a bit out of his reach but he understood the basics.

"The writing has to be perfect, precise, and you need to have your chakra infused as your going Naruto." Jiraiya told him again as he tried to make the perfect strokes with the brush. It was frustrating because a single missed mark and the seal would be ruined. His training with Gamakichi was put on hold while they focused all of their efforts to the creation of the seals themselves.

The nights were still reserved for sparring and taijutsu training but the days became a frustrating exercise in proper seal creation. It took Naruto nearly two months before he finally manage to draw the seal properly and another month to manage to infuse the chakra correctly, and this was with training nearly 10 hours a day on nothing but seal drawing and chakra placement.

But their work was not for nothing. Within the last month Naruto began to make huge achievements in his seals. He could now sense the location of anyone around the seals, although he still couldn't teleport himself, it was a huge step forward and as far Jiraiya himself had ever gotten. The range was severely limited to only 30 or 40 yards but it was still very good for the boy.

As the year winded down Jiraiya looked back on the time they had spent. Naruto had improved drastically with his Heihuquan forms and was actually fighting in a set style rather than throwing random punches and kicks and had begun to think before he struck someone. He couldn't teleport himself as the Flying Thunder God technique was supposed to allow, but he understood all of the basics and Jiraiya had given him the key to one of the most powerful jutsu in the world, it would be up to him over the next year to learn how to finish it.

Hinata had broken out of the strict Juken style and incorporated the Bajiquan techniques extremely well. Watching her fight was like watching a dancer and she was able to utilize the water around her to block incoming attacks after her strikes as well. She showed signed of having a very strong affinity to water jutsu. Her range had increased dramatically and, if he didn't miss his guess, would probably have the strongest defensive technique he'd ever seen, well, once she had fully mastered it.

The year had been well spent, in Jiraiya's mind. They had learned much and gained much and soon it be time to return home. He hoped he had prepared them enough for the future.

Jiraiya had noticed one other thing that summer, he had seen Hinata staring at Naruto many times and blushing. _It seems one of them finally figured it out, and of course Naruto's still as oblivious as always._ He thought to himself, it was definitely time to have a chat with the boy.

Author's Note: I looked into several different martial arts styles for Naruto but most of them seemed too rigid and knowing Naruto's rather explosive personality I chose the Heihuquan style, it is also called Black Tiger Kung Fu, I even watched several video's on it and could definitely see Naruto using it. It has a lot of kicks and strikes to it, very explosive and reminded me of Naruto's explosive personality. It's a real martial art from northern china based and is a shaolin style, or similar to the shaolin styles. Just thought you all might find that interesting!


	15. Jiraiya's Talk and Sensei's

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Edit Note: I fixed the slight problem with the special Jonin rank! Thanks very much to my readers for pointing out my mistake that and please keep letting me know if I make mistakes like that in the future!

Author's Note: Hey guys, I wanted to thank you all for the reviews and support thus far! I think you'll get an idea where I am going for the teams in the upcoming chapter from the content here. Also as you can see I've narrowed down to the final possible members for their team(s) so please continue giving me your input because it has been very helpful so far and I am not entirely certain on the terms yet! On a specific note a few people have mentioned trying to smooth out the transitions so I am going to take some advice and be looking into some of my favorite authors and see how they do it and I'll be trying to incorporate that in the future to help make the story flow better! I hope you enjoy Chapter 15!

Chapter 15: Jiraiy's Talk and Sensei's

**Konoha: 8 Months Earlier **

While Naruto and Hinata were busy being trained by Jiraiya the world wasn't standing still outside the Valley of the Toads. In fact it was not long after Naruto and Hinata left that one of their good friends, Anko Mitarashi, was summoned to stand before the Hokage.

"You all should be congratulated on her service to Konoha and your hard work. You have advanced your skills, abilities, and become proud shinobi of the leaf village. I am glad to be here today and this is one of my proudest responsibilities as the hokage of this village. Each of you has received your promotion to Jonin! Congratulations to each of you please come forward."

Anko probably shouldn't have been listening in on the ceremony, but she had always been a rather curious sneak and well known for her abilities of ferreting out information. Hearing him congratulate the new jonin reminded her of when she received her promotion nearly a year ago. She sat back down on the couch outside the Hokage's office. She had received her own promotion to jonin nearly a year prior and while she was glad to have this audience she hadn't expected it for another few months when she had requested it.

After the newly appointed jonin left to celebrate she was called inside the office with the Hokage.

"Anko Mitarashi, I'm please to see you, you requested a meeting with me about the genin assignments correct?"

The Hokage was wearing his full ceremonial robes except for his hat which rested on the desk before him as he smiled at her, his pipe was unlit and sat beside his hat on his desk. The desk was piled high with papers and reports, he was obviously at work on something. The lines in the old man's face were more apparent as he smiled.

"Well sir, I have a request. I know the genin are being assigned this year and as I was promoted too late to receive a team last year, I would like to request that Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga be placed under my guidance as part of my team. I know them well and have already been involved with instructing them thus far in, uh, many activities around the village. Also I know that at least two others were looking to receive them but I don't believe they could be as suitable sensei to the two.

"Lady Kurenai, while a genjutsu specialist and exceptional jonin is too much a sister and maternal figure, it may be too much of a conflict of interest to ask her to train them. It would be asking her to take two kids she looks at as her own flesh and blood on missions where they might get killed. It could impair her judgment in their training and on missions and impair the judgment of the students.

"Also Kakashi Hakate has shown interest in training the boy but I believe he shouldn't be allowed to sir. I know he was his father's student but he has done nothing with the boy when he has been in the village. He has been apathetic to the boy and that smut he reads constantly would be a bad influence on him…"

Anko was stopped mid-sentence as another person broke into her reasoning.

"And teaching him to prank villagers as revenge for the way he was treated is a good influence Anko?" Kakashi said from the window as sat on the window sill of the Hokage's office.

"Don't you think you'd also be impaired in your judgment? You have been his friend for a while, after all, he doesn't need someone going easy on him because of friendship. The boy needs a teacher who he hasn't met and can have a true student-sensei relationship with. And besides I made a promise to Minato years ago, his son will be my student."

Kakashi glared at Anko and Anko returned his glare. You could almost see the lightning crackling between the two and the hokage wondered he they wouldn't just start a fight right then and there.

_Bastard! He knew what I had planned and waited until just the right moment…_ Anko thought.

_Not so fast snake-girl, you might be quick but I made a promise_, Kakashi thought to himself.

The Hokage coughed politely attempting to diffuse the situation. They turned and looked at him as if waiting for the referee to make a call on a play. He nodded to them and sighed.

"As of now the only decision made is that Hinata and Naruto will be on the same team, I have not made up the teams any further as it stands. However though you both have strong cases and I will tell you I have no intention of giving Naruto and Hinata to Kurenai. While I think she would make a great instructor for them it would be asking too much of her and I agree with your assessment Anko, that she would be forced into a difficult decision which might compromise her judgment on future assignments in training and on missions for both her and the children."

_So, they will be on the same team…_ Anko and Kakashi thought as the Hokage remembered his prior meeting only a few days ago.

**Flashback**

The Hokage had stayed late that evening to work on some last minute paper work for the upcoming joinin promotions when there was a soft knock at his door.

"Come in but please be brief, I still have a lot of work to do." Sarutobi Hiruzen, the third hokage, asked without looking up.

"I won't take much of your time, Lord Hokage." The man said and Hiruzen looked up surprised to find Hiashi Hyuga in his office.

With a raised eyebrow he put down the papers in front of him, "What can do I do for you Hiashi?"

"I have a request to make, I know it might seem odd but I would appreciate it if you would honor it." Hiashi said.

Hiashi seemed different to the hokage. Ever since that first night that Minato had died Hiashi had carried himself with a huge scar on his life. He seemed to have set his mission in life to strengthen his clan and provide it with the strongest leadership possible. It made his demeanor cold and uncaring and, combined with the arrogance the Hyuga clan tended to have, it made him a very cold man that tended to look down on everyone around him.

But this Hiashi reminded him more of the man he had been, rather than the man he had become. He also seemed tired and the lines around his face were more prominent. His eyes as well seemed more earnest. His body looked a bit thinner and, if Hiruzen wasn't mistaken, his face looked a bit gaunt.

_So, the loss of his daughter has affected the man, although he would never admit it,_ he thought to himself.

The third hokage nodded, indicating he would hear Hiashi's request.

Hiashi bowed and continued, "I would ask that my daughter, Hinata, be placed on the same genin team as Naruto Uzumaki."

There was silence after the request had been made, in truth, the hokage wasn't sure he had heard the man correctly. He had expected many things but this certainly was not one of them.

"Why do you want them on the same team Hiashi? And why do you care? Last I remember you renounced you blood ties and disinherited her from you and cast her out of the Hyuga clan." The hokage reminded him.

Hiashi blanched and his pale face seemed to go almost white for a moment, he knew this question was coming, which was why he had come so late at night when he knew the hokage would be alone.

"I… I made a mistake. I read the letters the boy sent to her, damn him, but he's just like Minato, always believing in people. I… in truth, I failed as a father and a clan leader." Hiashi turned his eyes downward and dropped his gaze, he couldn't meet the eyes of the man before him.

"I can't make her happy any longer, but I see her with that boy, and she smiles and laughs. I… I can't remember the last time I saw her smile when she had been with me. If that boy, if Naruto, can make her happy then I would like them to be together. I know I can't change my past actions, I know that I can't bring her back, but please lord hokage, please fulfill my request."

And with that Hiashi bowed deeply to the old man in front of him.

The hokage looked at him and there was silence in the room. Hiashi did not look up and continued to bow as the hokage thought about what he had said.

_So, he finally figured out what he lost, too bad it was too little too late,_ the hokage thought.

"Very well Hiashi, I will allow it."

"Thank you lord hokage, thank you very much." Hiashi said and bowed again, removing himself from the room."

**End Flashback**

"Yes, Naurto and Hinata will be on the same genin squad. I had been considering several jonin instructors for the boy. But I am also currently considering who the third member of the team will be. Who the third member of the team is will determine heavily who the sensei of the team will be and I need the team to be balanced. But truthfully I won't know how to balance the team until I have a complete report from Jiraiya on the training and level of the two when they return."

Anko shot glares at Kakashi while he returned with more of the same and the hokage sighed.

_Neither one will be happy if they aren't somehow involved…_ He thought to himself as he tried to think of a solution. In truth he hadn't come to a decision and it was being damn difficult to figure out.

He understood Kakashi's feelings on the matter but he had to consider who would be best to train the boy. Kurenai was out of the question because of the reasons they had already discussed and he already had assigned a team to his son Asuma, and Gai was busy with a team of his own already. He had considered assigning them to Jiraiya but he knew his old pupil would simply laugh at him, refuse and skip town saying he had done enough training already. He had even considered promoting Iruka to jonin just to give Naruto too him but he knew that none of those would work.

He had even gone so far afield as to consider reassigning Hayate Gekko or Genma Shiranui but he wasn't sure they would be able to handle Narut's personality. They were both well known combat specialists and advanced jonin but they had responsibilities and neither would do well with Naruto's rambunctious personality. That left Anko and Kakakshi as the two best remaining choices.

Kakashi was one of the most dangerous and revered shinobi in the village, his skills excelled beyond just about anyone's and his manner and demeanor could handle Naruto's personality well. Plus he also had the experience with his father's techniques which would allow him to train Naruto better than most others. On the flip side Anko was right, they were used to following her guidance and she was just about as skilled Kakashi was when it came to hand to hand combat. She was also an excellent strategist and trained under Orochimaru.

_Hmmmm, maybe I should just let the two of them fight it out… might make things easier for me,_ the hokage thought to himself.

_A lot of it comes down to who is assigned as the third member of the squad. If I was to assign Sasuke Uchiha he would best be trained under Kakashi because no one else currently could teach him to use his Sharingan. If I assigned Sakura Haruno to the team or perhaps Shino Aburame they would be better off with Anko. She could snap the girl out of her shallow state and get her to use that mind of her's for some good and Shino would learn a lot from Anko as a teacher and strategist._

The hokage sat in thought for the time, but the jonin in front of him had gone back to arguing while he was lost in thought.

"Oh yeah! Well at least I talked to the kid, he doesn't even know you exist!" Anko yelled at Kakashi.

"Yes, he knows you exist because you throw paint together, good way to start a sensei-student relationship huh?" He responed.

"At least I know how to have fun you stick in the mud!" She responded with her tongue out at him.

"I have fun! I read for a hobby!" He said as he took his book out only to have Anko grab it.

"This smut! Bah! Go fetch it if you like it so much!" She said and threw it out the window as hard as she could.

Kakashi gasped and jumped out the window screaming, "Noooo! Bookie! I'll save you!!!" As he jumped to catch the falling book before it hit the ground.

Anko grinned now that she had the hokage all to herself and she looked back at the man who burst out laughing at the antics of the two jonin.

"Two special jonin level shinobi fighting over a student, I can't remember someone arguing over a student this badly since Minato was a child and Jiraiya and Orochimaru were trying to get at him. I'll let you all know when I have made a decision. Until then, please try not to hurt each other." The hokage told her before she could say anything dismissing her.

**8 Months Later**

That had been nearly 8 months prior to the current day and the hokage was no closer to make a decision on who to place with Hinata and Naruto as a team or who their sensei should be. He knew he had four choices. Shino Aburame, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruna, and Kiba Inuzuka, of which he had already dismissed Kiba Inuzuka because he knew that Naruto's strength lay in his frontal fighing ability and he didn't want to place two fights together unless they could complement each other.

No, if two frontal fighters were to be together it would have to be Sasuke and Naruto, that way their combat styles and jutsu could complement one another. He could place Sakura into the group, she had a strong talent for genjutsu which neither Hinata nor Naruto had or Shino who was a strong strategist.

The hokage sighed, no closer to an answer, he would simply have to wait for Jiraiya to return and give him a full report on their training before deciding.

**The Valley of the Toads**

The hokage wouldn't have to wait long before receiving his report as the trio had finally packed their camp and begun their decent out of the valley of the toads. They had said their good-byes to Ma, Pa, and Gamakichi and made sure to clean up everything around them before finally walking out of the valley. It took them most of the day to leave the valley and the sun was on its way down when the Jiraiya finally slid the rock back into place.

"Ok kids, we're going to try and make another hour or two towards Konoha before stopping to camp, but I want to start you guys on a technique you can practice while we're moving. Now, you learned the Clone and Transformation Jutsu's in the academy right?"

Hinata nodded to him but Naruto placed a hand behind head and scratched it shaking his head in negative. "Uh, I wasn't actually there for those lessons."

Jiraiya almost fell over in shocked and immediately took out a scroll containing both jutsu on it from his bag, he had brought it as a surprise practice jutsu for them walked back home and was going to show them how to combine the two jutsu's together. But apparently he would have to teach the original jutsu's to Naruto as they went.

"Ok, Hinata I want you to show Naruto how it's done first please, the clone and then the transformation." Hinata nodded and proceeded to create a double of herself and then after releasing the double transformed herself into am image of Kurenai.

"Ok, Naruto I want you to study with Hinata on this for today as we're walking, she can explain the finer points since she seems to have it down fine as your reading the scroll. When we get to camp we'll have to try it out. The transformation jutsu involves you sending a constantly flow of chakra while maintaining a mental image of the person you want to look like. You then hold the chakra around you creating an illusion that you are that person. You have to have a strong mental imagine and keep it firm in your mind or it will mess up the jutsu.

"Now, the clone jutsu are simply illusions created from your chakra. You create the mental image and channel chakra into a spot and create the illusion. Now, let's get moving, you'll learn on the way."

They walked for about two or three hours before finally coming to a halt as the sun finally set. Naruto then demonstrated what he learned by turning into a copy of Jiraiya and then creating a clone of himself. In truth neither was exactly right but they were passable and as the next day went on he was able to quickly master the jutsu. He found that neither was a very difficult jutsu to learn compared to the concentration and focus needed to make those stupid seals.

As they went on Jiraiya, as one last instruction, showed them how to use the transformation jutsu in conjunction with the clone jutsu. Naruto also tended to throw several kunai knives around and tried to sense things around them and summon himself. He was able to sense the animals and people around the knives but never managed to summon himself. He knew the knives would provide an incredible surveillance and tactical advantage but he also wished he had been able to get farther with the technique.

As they crested the hill to Konoha and saw the main gate Jiraiya stopped.

_Time for a little chat with Naruto…_ He thought to himself.

"Hey Hinata, run on ahead and meet us at the gate, I need to talk to Naruto about something real quick ok? Just some private godson-godfather things, I hope you understand."

"Of course," she said and continued moving to the gate. She knew Naruto would tell her whatever was said later anyway.

Once Hinata was well out of hearing range Jiraiya turned to his godson and eyed him for a moment before slowly beginning forward.

"Ok kid, there are some things we need to talk about. First, I am giving you the scroll with your father's jutsu on it. I want you to hide this thing and protect it with your life. I know you're going to need it if you want to master the jutsu and I told you I'd give it to you. I know you can do it, just don't get discouraged. Also, don't go shouting to everyone who your father is ok? Minato made a lot of enemies during the great war and a lot of people out there would love to get at him through you. So it's best if you keep that secret to yourself. No one needs to know until you're older, make you dad proud though and become the Hokage like you keep saying you will be!"

Naruto nodded, he had figured both of those were coming, "Uh, why did you send Hinata away if that's what you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, that's not all, I think it's time we talked about a particular subject. So, Naruto, have you found any girls in your class at the academy you thought were cute?" He said casually.

Naruto suddenly stopped and stood very stiff and an aura of dread surrounded the boy and he groaned inwardly, _Oh god Oh god Oh god… he's going to talk to me about girls! He's a super pervert! What's he going to say to me! How can I get out of this! Maybe if I start running now… Oh god Oh god, someone get me out of here!!!! _Naruto thought to himself.

Jiraiya looked at him for a moment sensing the apprehension and raised his hands, "Hey, look, I know I may not be the best guy to teach you about ethics when it comes to women but I figure it my job to pass on what I know!"

Naruto's dread increased and he finally opened his mouth, "You're a super pervert! I see you peeking at girls in the baths all the time! What can you teach me other than how to snoop you old pervert!?"

Jiraiya glared at his godson, "Hey! I may be a Super Pervert but I'll have you know I can sweet talk any girl out there, aside from my old teammate Tsunade… But that's not the point, this is important! Just give me a chance kid!"

Naruto groaned again before finally taking a deep breath and answering the question, "I know this one girl, Sakura, she's really pretty, and so is this other one, Ino, but they're kinda shallow and hang all over Sasuke. So I kind of lost interest pretty quickly."

"Uh huh, looks definitely aren't everything but you don't want to dismiss them and personality means a lot. Ya know Naruto, sometimes it's best to start with a friendship. A friendship can sometimes make the best springboard for a relationship. Sometimes it's right in front of you ya know?"

Naruto stared at his guardian dumbfounded, "Uh, what do you mean?"

_Oh… my… god… is he really this dense?! _He thought to himself

"Naruto, I know a lot of people who found their true loves in their _best friends_, maybe you should think about it huh?"

Ok, even Naruto wasn't so dense as not to get the less than subtle hint around best friends and love and he stopped to think a moment and shrugged. "So I need to meet a girl and ask her to be my friend first? But Hinata's my best friend and no other girl has a chance at beating her there!"

Sighing Jiraiya and tried again, "You like Hinata right?" Naruto nodded. "And how does Hinata make you feel when you think about when she is around?"

"Well, warm inside, I think of her smile, and how pretty her hair is when she braids it in the back or has it up with the hair sticks I sent her. And she is also really kind and graceful cause I am kind of a clutz but she doesn't laugh at me, she just helps me up. And she makes me laugh and she laughs with me and is really strong. And when she is around it makes me feel really happy inside." Naruto told him and Jiraiya smiled at him thinking _Come on Kids, figure it out!_

"And how does it feel when she isn't around?" He asked, trying again to get through to his godson.

"Well, kinda sad but not sad. Like I know I will get to see her again but I miss her and it's kind of like something is a bit empty cause I am used to her being there. And that happiness when she's around isn't there either which I don't like." Naruto's face scrunched in concentration as he tried to explain the emptiness when Hinata wasn't around.

Naruto was thinking of all the times he and Hinata had gone out together and how she smiled as he tried to explain how she made him feel but a single imagine continued to come back to his mind constantly, the night he had learned about his father, how she had been there for him and let him lean against her, how beautiful she had been framed by the moonlight and the waterfall and how she was always there for him and never gave up on him.

It made Naruto start to blush slowly and more and more until he was very red.

_FINALLY!!! Good grief, I thought I was going to have to spell it out for him then beat it into his head with a stick, my god he is so incredibly dense, I was so sick of seeing that look on her face and all the glances, it's about damned time!_ Jiraiya thought to himself.

"Um, Sagie, What's a date like?" Naruto asked as he was still blushing furiously.

"Well, usually you go get something to eat somewhere special, and you walk together, and hold hands and maybe kiss. It depends on the date, usually it's something you both enjoy a lot. It's not about the surroundings as much as the company. Have anyone in particular in mind?"

Naruto blushed some more and Jiraiya laughed before reaching in his pocket and taking out some money and handing it to him, "That's for the date your thinking about going on, and trust me, you should." He told him.

They had finally reached the gate where Hinata was waiting for him. And Naruto blushed deeply as he looked at her and she gave him a quizzical look. And together the three returned at last to the village of Konohagakure, while this entrance may not have been as flashy as riding a giant toad they were non-the-less happy to be home.


	16. The Return and Graduation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: Thank you all for the reviews and I am very glad so many of you are enjoying the story so far! I am trying some new ways to make the story flow a bit better when scenes are closer in time and hope you all like it. I have made the final decision on the gennin teams which will come out soon but until then please enjoy this new chapter!

**Chapter 16: The return and Graduation**

It had been a year since the trio had left, Jiraiya took his leave from the two youngsters leaving them to their own devices as he went to the Hokage tower to report on their training. Naruto and Hinata looked around at the village and saw things slightly differently than before. The village didn't seem quite so wondrous to them anymore. But it wasn't the village that had changed, it was the two youngsters who had returned.

Hinata and Naruto had changed slightly with their training and strict diets. They were stronger now, Naruto's skin had become a bit tanner, while Hinata's remained as pale as always. Naruto had also grown more and was now several inches taller than Hinata, who had also grown a few inches as well, closer to Sasuke's height. Ramen, it seemed, wasn't as healthy as Naruto would have liked to claim it was. Hinata's hair was longer now, almost to her mid-back and she had it braided as it fell down from her head.

The two wandered around town looking for their classmates and friends but when the Hokage Mountain came into sight Naruto couldn't help but stopping and looking up at the fourth hokage.

_Dad… I'll make you proud, I swear it! One day my face will be there next to yours!_ Naruto thought to himself as he touched the letter inside his jacket's pocket.

Hinata blushed as she saw the serious look on Naruto's face and smiled at him. She knew what he was thinking about and it made her happy that she was one of the people that had been trusted with his secret. He noticed her smile and returned her smile and blush. The two went to the first place Naruto would always find when he came home, the Ichiraku Ramen Stand. When they arrived they were greeted by the old chef as they sat down.

"Hey there! Naruto and Hinata, my two favorite customers! How was that training you guys went on?" He asked.

"It was great! We learned so much! Can I get a bowl of ramen with pork!" Naruto asked, his mouth drooling at the thought of the ramen that would soon be his after nearly nine months without ramen. Naruto had managed to sneak enough ramen to last him secretly for three months before Jiraiya had discovered it and given all to Gamakichi and his brother Gamatatsu.

Hinata smiled shyly, "It went well, miso ramen please sir."

The Chef went straight to work and placed the bowls in front of the children. As they reached for the chop sticks their fingers touched and both blushed.

"_How does being around Hinata make you feeling Naruto?" _ Naruto remembered the question that his godfather had asked him.

The chef raised an eyebrow at the reaction without saying anything.

_Hmmmm, apparently someone must have struck Naruto with a brick since he's finally realized Hinata likes him._ The Chef thought and turned around to hide his wide grin and chuckle.

The two ate their meal while chatting about the training they had done and what they would be doing now that they were back.

"I hope the graduation test is soon! I can't wait to go on missions as a real ninja!" Naruto said.

Hinata smiled, "I hope we're placed on the same team, it would be nice to be together some more."

"I am sure they will, they wouldn't let us be trained together and then break us apart." Naruto responded confidently.

Their conversation moved from training to the possible missions they might have. As they finished their meal Naruto wanted to go find Anko and play some pranks but Hinata convinced him to go find Iruka and ask for some help to prepare for the exams coming up soon. Naruto agreed, although more because he wanted to see Iruka-sensei and convince him to take him for more ramen than to study.

As Naruto walked through the town with Hinata his mind was caught up in two thoughts which pushed all others aside. The first was that he couldn't stop looking at the Hokage Mountain and thinking of his father and the second was his friend Hinata and Jiraiya's conversation with him.

As Naruto and Hinata walked the streets in search of Iruka Jiraiya arrived at the office of the third hokage and entered laying two folders in front of him containing the reports on Naruto and Hinata's training.

"So you're back, how did things go in the valley?" The hokage asked him as he picked up the reports. The third hokage placed his pipe in his mouth, smoke gently wafting from it, as he opened the folders.

"Not bad, Naruto's managed to learn most of the flying thunder god technique but he still can't teleport himself. That kid may not be a genius but he sure works hard. I swear he's going to surpass us all if he keeps this up. He also has adapted well to the Heihuquan forms I showed him as well. As I thought his energetic personality was suited for it. His chakra control has improved drastically thanks to the training he received with the seals. He is also capable of producing intermediary seals and I had him working towards the advanced seals.

"Along with that his ability to summon the toads has increased substantially and while he may not be able to fully utilize his father's technique he can create the seals correctly and sense through them the way Minato could. I also gave him his father's letter, so don't be surprised if he comes looking for you, it said Minato left something for him with you.

"Hinata's Juken style has been exponentially improved by the Bajiquan style. Also she is able to utilize the water dance and needle techniques effectively, although not together. She doesn't have complete control yet either.

"Over all I would say their training was a success but I wish I had had more time. I would have liked to put time into training Naruto with the Rasengan as well as the Flying Thunder God technique but getting him to sit still every day was hard enough."

The old Hokage leafed through the files as he listened to his student.

"What about their teamwork? How would you describe it?" He asked.

"I would say that given another two or three years of training they could surpass Ino-Shika-Cho in their teamwork. Hinata's ability to defend and provide a mid-range attacks with her water jutsu as well as a very strong defense which works almost flawlessly with Naruto's more front-line fighting capabilities and wind jutsu. When they sparred against me they flowed very well together, it was almost eerie by the end of the year they would making team moves with barely speaking to one another and managed to keep me on the defensive many nights. They make up for each other's weaknesses extremely well and guard the other with great tenacity."

The hokage nodded, he had expected as much.

Jiraiya coughed and had a big smile on his face as the hokage raised an eyebrow. "You did something didn't you?"

"I might have given Naruto a push in the right _direction_, you could say that, I did have a little chat with Naruto before we arrived." His smile growing wider as Jiraiya patted himself on the back at his own good work.

_By the first, second, and fourth hokage HE gave Naruto advice on WOMEN!? Minato forgive me for letting such a thing happen to your son!_ The Hokage thought to himself as a vision of a mini-Jiraiya with blonde hair went through his mind.

The hokage sighed at his student's antics, "Back to their training. What do you think they lack the most for their genin team?"

Jiraiya thought a moment, "Well, truth is neither is very adept at genjutsu or medical jutsu, although Hinata could be very good with the right amount of medical training, water affinity tends to create a very gentle touch needed in medic ninja's. I would say that's the biggest thing missing but I would probably place either a long range fighting or someone with a very strong tactical mind to the team. Hinata and Naruto work well together but neither can truly counter a long ranged attack and while they make a good team their analytical abilities leave a bit to be desired."

Jiraiya got serious then as he spoke to his sensei, "Remember sensei, this team will have a high probability to be attacked by some very powerful shinobi, if your thinking of balancing this team like normal with someone lacking in ability I would advise against it."

The hokage sighed, no one was going to make his job any easier. With that Jiraiya dismissed himself to conduct some research before meeting up with Naruto and Hinata at Kurenai's for dinner.

It wouldn't be long before Naruto and Hinata found themselves at Kurenai's as the sun was setting, they had tried to find Iruka but he hadn't been at the academy. When they had tried to find Anko she had been missing as well. Now it was getting dark so they headed to see if Kurenai was home or if all their friends were missing or out on missions.

Hinata opened the door with her key and they saw a huge spread of food and their friends all chatting with Jiraiya.

"Hey! They're here! Welcome home guys!" Their friends greeted them with hugs and a small welcome back party. Everyone had decided they would all bring some food and they'd have an evening together and then throw a big party for their graduation at the academy later.

Iruka approached them with a big smile on his face, "Hey guys! Welcome home! You are just in time for the graduation exam! I was just talking to Master Jiraiya about it, he said he's going to put you guys on a prep course with me for the next week to make sure you're all set. He's going to give me a report on your training so I can fill in the gaps and get you ready, it's good to have you both back!"

They circulated around the room talking to their old friends, Hinata tended to hang by Kurenai chatting quietly with her while Kurenai's date, Asuma, chatting politely with Jiraiya. Anko of course went straight for the dango she found someone had brought as Iruka stood next to her having a piece himself.

"WoW! This Dango is great!!! Where did you guys get it?" The snake-lady asked.

Iruka was rather nervous around the woman who everyone considered possibly scarier than Tsunade herself.

"Uh, It's my families special recipe, you like it?" Iruka said as he slid himself a bit further away and out of direct arms reach of the woman in case she decided in the negative.

_Wait!? He MADE this? Hmmmm…_ She thought to herself as she eyed a very nervous Iruka.

Iruka saw the look in Anko's eyes and felt like he was being sized up as a piece of meat and evaluated.

_Someone… save me… please…_ he thought to himself unsure how to get out of the situation.

Thankfully for Iruka someone decided to take that moment to start playing music, or rather Jiraiya decided to summon Gamakichi and his toad band along with Ma and Pa to join the party. It would have been a perfect distraction if Anko hadn't decided that she felt like dancing and grabbed him and dragging him, quite literally, to the middle of the room to dance with him while everyone else watched with amused looks as the chunin teacher tried his best to escape the snake-lady of konoha.

Kurenai's date, Asuma, also asked her to dance and before long Jiraiya (dancing alone), Ma, Pa, Anko, Iruka, Kurenai, and Asuma were all dancing.

"_Trust me, you should"_, went through Naruto's head as he looked at Hinata who was standing there watching Kurenai and Anko dancing with a smile on her face. She obviously wanted to dance but didn't want to dance with the old pervert Jiraiya who kept trying to get next to Anko who was, in fact, very busy trapping the dango making Iruka. She blushed when Naruto looked at her.

Naruto walked over to his friend who went very pale and began to blush deeply, something she hadn't done in years around Naruto.

_Oh god, is he going to ask me to dance?!_ Hinata thought to herself.

Well, she was right as Naruto leaned with his back against the wall and blushed deeply with his hands behind his head, "Uh, Hinata… would, um, would you, uh, like to, uh dance? Maybe? With me?"

Naruto didn't understand why he felt so nervous about asking his friend to dance. They had danced together before at the festival's but this felt different to him somehow. He felt like he was taking some big step but he didn't know what that step was.

"Um, I-I- Um, Y-yes I would." Hinata answered him in the quietest voice she had had since she first met the boy. He smiled at her and she felt like her insides were going to turn to mush. Naruto and Hinata made it out to the dance floor and began to dance together, most of it looked more like revised spar moves but it was dancing, in a way.

Anko saw her two young protégé's entering the dance floor together and grinned catching Iruka again with her hand before he could escape. She really was getting a kick out of making the young man so nervous but part of her mind remembered the day she had seen Hinata watching a much younger Naruto from afar.

**Flashback**

Anko had been watching Naruto on and off for almost three months when she found out the boy was in town to stay for a while. She had decided it might be interesting to see what he was like and if the rumors about him were true.

At first he was a huge disappointment. He was a normal kid, hell, she couldn't see what the problem was with the village and this kid and she related to his pain of being held for a crime he didn't commit, she had felt much the same after her sensei had turn traitor and remembered the cold glares of people expecting her to turn traitor as well and how much she simply wanted someone to accept her for her and give her a chance.

She had just about given up watching the kid when she noticed a small girl was also watching him. She would just stand there behind a tree or hiding herself and watch him. She saw the girl wanted to talk to the boy and that made things more interesting and she realized this girl wasn't afraid of the demon boy, she liked him! Over the next few months Anko had watched the girl try to get the courage to talk to the little boy but failed each time.

That was when a mixture of emotion Anko Mitarashi truly wasn't used to finally got the better of her. She felt sympathy for the boy and the girl. So one day when the girl was watching Anko moved silently and placed a small twig, right where her right foot would hit when she backed up to leave with a small tag that would immobilize her for a short time, forcing her to meet the boy she seemed to want to meet so badly but unable to bring herself to talk too.

Then to make sure it happened she also throw a rock in that direction and had watched the results with a smile.

**End Flashback**

_I guess putting that little trap on the practice field that day was the best thing after all,_ she thought to herself, no one would ever know it was her, it would ruin her reputation as the evil snake-lady of Konoha after all.

It was late before everyone had finally left and Hinata and Kurenai were getting ready for bed when Kurenai decided to approach a specific topic with Hinata.

"You and Naruto seem to be getting along very well. How did things go in the valley?" She asked.

Hinata blushed, "They went well, we learned a lot."

"Uh huh, from your reaction I'd say you learned more than jutsu in that valley," Kurenai said with a slight smirk on her face.

Hinata's face turned bright red, "No! No! No! Nothing like that, I-I, M-mean, um, it's just, he's m-my b-best friend and…"

Kurenai started to laugh at the girl's predicament and hugged her, "It's ok Hinata, I knew you didn't do anything, I was only teasing. Now come over here and tell me what happened."

Hinata then described her feelings for the boy who had become more than a best friend to her. She told her everything about how she felt and what she thought of Naruto and how he had leaned on her during the training for support, minus the information about who his father was, and that it had changed the way she thought and felt about him.

"Hey is so kind and has such a faith in everyone, even the people who don't like him and he always endures and never gives up. Even when people hated him he never gave up. He puts his heart in everything he does and never gives up! He's going to be a great hokage! And when he is around I get this warm feeling inside my stomach and it spreads and it makes me feel good inside. And when he smiles he just lights up the entire room!"

Kurenai listened to her charge and she told her everything that she had kept bottled up for over the past year and was finally able to let it out.

"It sounds like you like Naruto more than as just a friend huh?" She asked.

Hinata merely nodded to Kurenai and Kurenai patted her on the head. "I have a feeling it'll be ok. Naruto's a bit dense but he'll figure it out, just be patient. And if you get sick of waiting, you could always tell him and ask him out you know."

Hinata got a horrified look on her face at the thought of telling her best friend she liked him and wanted to go out with him. Kurenai smiled at her and gave her a hug consoling the girl in an old sibling manner as they talked for the rest of the night about boy's, dating, and, in general, girl talk.

Little did the girls know that they were not the only ones awake that night as Naruto lay in his bed he thought about what his guardian had told him, he thought about everything that had happened over the past year, but most of all he thought about his best friend and when they had danced that night and he blushed deeply in the darkness.

Over the next week Naruto and Hinata received special instruction both in class at the academy and out of class by Iruka, who was often joined by Anko Mitarashi, for their written portion of the graduation exam. With their return to the village Naruto and Hinata were topped on the rumor mill only by the gossip revolving around Iruka and Anko who were seen together several times.

When Naruto had asked Anko why she was around Iruka so much she had gotten a rather odd look on her face.

"Ya know kid, at first I just wanted to make him nervous and thought it was funny but then I got to talking to him and he told me about his being a teacher. He really cares about his students, he'd give his life to protect you guys. There's something special about a person who is willing to do that and devote their life to that. And besides, he's teaching me his families secret dango recipe!" She had told him with a laugh.

Finally the day of the exam came for Naruto and Hinata. They sat in their class along with everyone else, Sasuke had actually smiled slightly when they had returned to class and shook hands with Naruto. He seemed a bit happier than before they had left, not as dark and angry and it made Naruto happy to see this. Chouji, Shino, and Shikamaru were all happy to see their friends and they had gotten together earlier in the week and exchanged stories from the past year.

Finally the end of the examination had come and Naruto was called into the room to create his clone. "Ok Naruto, I need you to make three clones of yourself." Iruka had told him.

Naruto nodded and proceeded to make ten clones who all smiled at Iruka and the other sensei, Mizuki, who congratulated him telling him he had passed with full marks. Hinata was also called into the room and also graduated with full marks making five clones.

Naruto and Hinata both passed with full marks and as they exited the academy with their forehead protectors they saw their friends standing there waiting for them, Kurenai hugged them both and Jiraiya smiled at his godson, he hadn't thought he could feel as proud as he had the day that Minato had become the fourth hokage but seeing Naruto smiling with the symbol of the leaf on his forehead had brought him nearly to tears.

Iruka then made the announcement in front of all the parents.

"Congratulations to you all! You have done exceptionally well! You're now genin of the leaf village, official ninja! Tomorrow you will meet your instructors and be assigned to squads under your new sensei. Parents you should be especially proud of your children, Congratulations again to you all!"

During Iruka's short speech, which was more for the parents than the children who had already received instructions on when to be at the academy and where to meet their future teachers after the exam had been completed, Naruto had looked up at the Hokage Mountain.

_I did it dad, I'm a ninja, one step closer to being Hokage. I'll make you proud father!_ Naruto thought to himself.

Seeing Naruto look at the mountain Jiraiya placed his hand on his godson's shoulder who looked at the old shinobi with a smile and he smiled back, for all intents and purposes looking as proud as a grandfather.

Not seen by anyone else, another father looked on from afar at his daughter. Hiashi Hyuga stood there quietly as he hid himself by a tree and saw Hinata smiling and being hugged by Kurenai, Anko, Jiraiya, and Iruka with their congratulations. It reminded him of the day he and Hizashi had graduated together and how their parents and family had been there, but no Hyuga's were there to be with Hinata and he was saddened that he was forced to watch from a distance as other people hugged his child.

_She looks so much like her mother with her hair longer and when she smiles, she looks so happy…_ He thought to himself.

Again he remembered how he had treated her and his heart hung heavily in his chest with guilt and remorse. He stood there watching as the parents and children left, and even after everyone was gone Hiashi Hyuga was still standing there looking at the academy. And as the sky darkened, even with the knowledge he had missed meetings and training sessions, Hiashi was brought low at the knowledge he had missed one of the most important days in his daughters life and he cried like the day he had when his wife had died, for in his mind and soul, he felt like he had lost her all over again.


	17. Sensei's, Teammates, and Secrets

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: Hey guys, I am home visiting family and friends for the next two weeks so I'll be updating a bit slower than normal, but the updates will continue! You guessed it, it's time for the team announcements and selections! I hope you enjoy them and like chapter 17!

**Chapter 17: Sensei's, Teammates, and Secret's Revealed**

Naruto and Hinata were walking back to Kurenai's house with their friends, laughing, joking, and full of congratulations for the two recent graduates. Naruto and Hinata couldn't wait for the next morning when they would find out what team they were on and who their jonin instructor would be! They kept pestering Jiraiya for hints or clues but he said he just didn't know, Anko smirked at them and Kurenai laughed.

"Come on kids, just cause I'm the hokage's student doesn't mean I know what team you guys will be on or who your sensei will be! Relax, I am sure whoever you get will be perfect for you both and if you guys are together or not I am sure it'll work out well." Jiraiya told them

They arrived at Kurenai's where a large amount of food had been prepared and their toad friends were waiting to congratulate the recent graduates. They smiled and waved at them as Gamakichi, Gabanta, Ma, and Pa were all there and the friends ate and celebrated that day. Naruto and Hinata were overjoyed, they had never had such a wonderful time together, but in the back of his mind Jiraiya knew that things were going to become much harder for the kids now that they were genin and he hoped that they could pass the real test before them.

_What they don't know is they still have to pass the real genin test given by their jonin sensei, and the truth is I don't even know who that will be…_ Jiraiya thought to himself as he smiled.

He waved to Naruto and steered to young boy out the door of the house for a private chat with him. The night was bright and clear, it wasn't cold out but the weather seemed to be working their favor and there wasn't a cloud in the sky as the stars shown down on them. The moonlight washed over the Hokage Mountain in the distance as Jiraiya turned to his godson and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, you can't imagine how proud I am of you today. You've taken the first step on your shinobi journey and to becoming Hokage someday. The only time in my life I can say I've been this proud was the day your father become Hokage. You're going to be starting down your own path tomorrow, I've given you the best base I can for your training and the future but before I let you go entirely I have one more thing for you, it was your father's gift for you upon graduation."

Jiraiya took out a package and handed it to the boy. Naruto smiled and took the package which simply had a faded note written on it,

_Congratulations Naruto!_

Naruto smiled and carefully opened the package, wanting to keep the paper with the note on it knowing it was written by his parents. In the package were three items, two special designed three pronged kunai knives and the final was a konoha _hitai-ate,_ forehead protector, and it had many marks on it from battle and use. Jiraiya gasped as he saw it and recognized it, it was Minato's hitai-ate, the one he had been given as a genin and worn throughout his time until he had become a jonin.

"I… I thought that thing was lost, he had to get a new one when he became a jonin because his original one tore and was lost on a mission, I guess he must have gone back and found it and saved it."

Naruto felt tears coming to his eyes as they splashed silently on the metal in his hands as he stared at it. Slowly he took off his own hitai-ate and tied his fathers on. He looked up at his godfather and smiled at him.

"How does it look Sagie?"

"You look just like your dad kid," Jiraiya told him with a smile.

_And something tells me you'll grow up to be just like him too…_ Jiraiya thought

A guilty feeling washed over Jiraiya and he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. He had a very serious expression on his face as Naruto looked up at him.

"Naruto, I need to tell you something, it's very important and I am sorry that I have to tell you this but I don't want you to hear it from someone else. So don't interrupt until I finish ok?" Naruto looked up at his godfather and nodded.

"You know about the tailed beast's right? And how some of them were captured by the first hokage and given to our allies, sealed inside people called jinchūriki. I know Kurenai took you to the museum and they told you all of the good stuff but there is more. Most Jinchuriki aren't very well liked and they don't get along with the beast inside them. It makes them moody and stand-offish and angry. The people around them hate them because they have trouble seeing the difference between the container and the beast contained within.

"There is a secret this village has kept under a law decreed by the third hokage the day of your birth. It was considered an S class punishment to tell you or speak about what I am going to tell you Naruto. The day you were born, the day that the nine-tailed fox attacked, you father couldn't defeat the creature. He tried very hard but in the end there was only one way to finally beat such a monster, it was to seal it within a baby whose chakra coils were as yet undeveloped and could adjust to the power of the fox over time.

"Your father refused to do ask anything of his men he himself wouldn't do and the child he used that night was you Naruto. He sealed the nine-tailed beast inside you."

Naruto sat there, shaken to his very core, unable to speak. All of the glares and hate he had experienced over his time in Konoha, the fear, to anger, everything made sense now. How could his father have done this to him? Didn't he know what would happen!? Naruto's eyes began to tear up again as he felt the weight of his father's forehead protect on him, but the man loved him!

"Why…" Naruto began but Jiraiya interrupted him

"Naruto, your father's final wish was that you be treated as a hero, but the village was too angry and to hateful toward the fox, they wanted you killed when the third hokage had presented you to them. So he created the law to protect you, he wanted you to be safe from harm. But not all of the people wanted to hurt you Naruto, several clans tried to adopt you at first, and Kurenai, Iruka, myself, Anko, even Hinata know about your secret and none of us care. Hinata's father tried to use it was a reason to keep you two apart and she refused to believe it. We love you for who you are, for being Naruto Uzumaki.

"The Aburame's, the Nara's, the Akimichi's, the Inuzuka's even the branch house of the Hyuga clan wall wanted to adopt you. There are good people here who didn't want you to go through your life alone. Your father was my student though, and as your godfather I took charge of you, and I love you like a grandson Naruto. You are our hero, you are your father's son Naruto. Don't let anyone ever take that from you, he loved you with all his heart and he wanted to be there today and I am sure he was watching of you."

Jiraiya hugged his godchild who was completely in shock at the new revelation and they sat there for a few minutes until Naruto felt he was ready to go back inside. He understood why the villagers had acted the way they had and he understood his father's wish much greater now. He was still shocked and hurt but the knowledge that people loved him and would protect him, even knowing what was inside him, it lessened the blow, and he felt so grateful for his godfather telling him the truth.

As he walked back into the house he took one last look at the hokage mountain.

_I'll make you proud father, I'll protect the village the way you always wanted, _Naruto thought to himself.

As he entered the room he saw the smiles and faces of the people around him, they loved him for who he was. They didn't care that he was the container for the fox. They were his family and with his godfather's hand on his shoulder Naruto knew that everything would be ok.

Jiraiya knew he was placing a hard burden on his godson with this knowledge but he also knew that sooner or later he had to be told and since he was considered an adult by the people of Konoha now, he had decided it was time for the truth.

**Flashback**

"I am going to tell him the truth, whether you like it or not sensei. You can punish me for it later, but the boy is going to be a man when he passes that test and graduates and he deserves to know the truth. I won't allow someone else to tell him!" Jiraiya told the third hokage before him. It was the night before the exam and the two had been arguing for almost an hour.

The argument went back and forth, why they should tell Naruto, why they shouldn't, but in the end Jiraiya was not going to give an inch on this and his sensei realized it. The old pervert saw this as one of the duties in his life as godfather and he wasn't going to let anyone stop him.

"Your set on this then?" His sensei responded.

"Yes, I will tell Naruto the truth after he finishes his graduation exam. I won't let some scum tell him later, I am his godfather and it's my responsibility. He needs to hear it from someone who can explain his father's reasoning and tell him the entire truth."

The hokage sighed but finally agreed, he would allow it, but he didn't like it. He was surprised by the tenacity in his former student, he truly cared for the boy.

**End Flashback**

And with this new knowledge, the kunai knives and forehead protector, Naruto hugged his godfather who returned his hug to the child he felt as his grandson. Following the hug they returned to the party and for the rest of the night the friends celebrated their two youngest for becoming shinobi.

The next morning Naruto and Hinata met at the academy, they were so excited they had hardly slept as they entered the classroom and took their normal seats near Sasuke and waited for Iruka to arrive. They chatted politely but all of their minds were on the team selections and their sensei's.

Iruka appeared with a small poof of smoke and looked at his students.

"Well, I guess there isn't much left for me to do as your sensei so I'll get right to it, you all have made me extremely happy and proud this year with so many graduates. Congratulations, now I will call out the names on the list for the teams. Your sensei's will meet you this afternoon at 1:00 p.m., so do not be late for your first meeting!"  
Iruka began to read off the names on the list as Naruto and Hinata listened carefully, they had their fingers crossed as they hoped to be on the same team and worried about what to do if they weren't.

"Team 6: Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino.

"Team 7: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba.

"Team 8: Hyuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, Aburame Shino

"That's everyone. Please be here promptly to meet your new sensei's and good luck!" said Iruka who disappeared in another poof of smoke.

Naruto and Hinata let out a cheer and hugged each other as they found out they would be on the same team, breaking away quickly when they realized they were hugging and both blushing deeply. Shino looked over at his new teammates from behind his sunglasses and frowned slightly, he could already tell this was going to be a very interesting.

The trio was still waiting for their sensei and it was closing in on being 3 hours late!

"Ugh, Where is this guy?! I thought he'd be here by now damn it!" Naruto complained again.

Hinata smiled shyly, "Well, maybe he's just running a little late."

"It's been almost three hours since he was supposed to meet us though, all the other teams have left. I think I'm going to take a nap, mind waking me when he gets here?" Naruto asked his friend.

"Sure Naruto," Hinata told him with a shy smile, any excuse to touch Naruto was a good enough for her.

Shino simply sat quickly communing with his bugs. All of the other teams had been taken away by their instructors. Team 6 had met their sensei, Asume Sarutobi and Naruto and Hinata had been a bit jealous when Kurenai had arrived to take charge of team 7.

**Flashback**

Naruto stood up immediately when he saw Kurenai thinking she would be there to take charge of his team. But she shook his head to him.

"Sorry Naruto, I tried to get you two but they told me they had someone special in mind for you. But don't worry, I'll see you guys soon!" She gave him a smile and had taken her team away.

**End Flashback**

And so it was that team 8 was still waiting for the sensei, three hours after they were supposed to meet him. Naruto laid back and yawned before starting to fall asleep. Hinata just sat there, nervous as always, Shino was still quietly communing with his bugs.

Finally they heard the door opening and a tall jonin with silver hair entered the room. He immediately took stock of his genin. Shino was still sitting apart, Hinata was still acting nervous with glances at Naruto, and Naruto was loudly snoring on a desk. Hinata shook Naruto awake who looked up at the man.

"Hey! Your late sensei! Where ya been?!" Naruto asked, Hinata nodded her agreement while shino's glasses caught the sun's reflection which went around once showing his agreement with his teammates.

Their jonin instructor took the glares and shrugged at them, "My first impression of you guys, I'm neutral."

_Naruto sleeping… Hinata, nervous as always,… and an Aburame? I thought for sure he'd give me the Uchiha… Wonder what the third hokage was smoking when he put this team together… _Kakashi thought to himself with a sigh.

"Meet me on the roof in 5 minutes." He said and disappeared with a poof of smoke.

The three made it to the roof and found their sensei sitting there, he motioned for them to take a seat anywhere they wished in front of him.

"Ok, let's get started with introductions, let's start with the usual, you know your name, likes, dislikes, some hobbies, ambitions and dreams of the future."

"Um, Sensei, we already know each other from class, could you start please?" Hinata asked in an extremely quiet voice.

"Eh, alright. I am Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't like talking about my likes and dislikes. My dreams and goals are none of your business. But I have many hobbies." Kakashi told them.

All his students gave him odd glances and raised eyebrows since Kakashi had told them absolutely nothing but his name.

"Ok blondie, we'll start with you." Kakashi said nodding to Naruto.

"Ok, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like Ramen, toads, my godfather Jiraiya, and my best friend Hinata. I dislike the 3 minutes it takes to make ramen, my hobbies include pranks, practical jokes, and making ramen while my goal and dream are to one day be the greatest Hokage ever! Believe it sensei!"

_Yeah, that's about what I expected from him…_ Kakashi thought to himself.

Hinata was sitting next to Naruto and spoke next, "I am Hinata Hyuga, I like flowers, plants, and my best friend Naruto," at which both she and Naruto blushed slightly, "I dislike arrogant and cold people, my hobbies include pranks and flower pressing, and my goal and dream, um, I-I'm not quite sure."

_So, it seems those two might actually notice they have feelings for each other,_ Kakashi thought to himself

Shino looked at Kakashi, the sunlight once again going around in a circle on his sunglasses, _That's going to get annoying…_ Kakashi thought.

"Shino Aburame. I like bugs. I dislike things that eat bugs." Shino said as the sunlight again circled his sunglasses.

_I wonder if that includes toads…_ Naruto thought

_I wonder how he keeps doing that thing with his sunglasses..._ Kakashi wondered

"Well, now that we are all acquainted we have our first training session tomorrow. Be at training field 12 at 7:00 a.m. and don't eat breakfast." Kakashi told them.

"What kind of training will we be doing sensei?" Hinata asked him as he handed out the details of their assignment.

"Survival exercises." He told them.

"Um, sensei, we did survival exercises in the academy." Naruto said.

Shino and Hinata were curious as well but didn't voice their curiousty.

"Yes but you see, out of the 27 members of your graduting class only 9 will actually make it to genin level. The test you took upon graduation was only to see if you were capable of becoming genin, we jonin perform the actual test to determine if you should be genin, that test has a 66% failure rate."

Kakashi told them this in a very off-hand manner and felt the rising dread from the three students before him.

"You can always stop now if you want…" Kakashi began before being interrupted.

"No Way! We are so going to pass this test, Right Hinata? Shino!" Naruto said

The other two nodded in agreement, well, Hinata nodded, Shino caught the sun on the rims of his glasses again signaling his agreement.

"Alright then, I'll see you all tomorrow. Oh, and don't eat breakfast." Kakashi said to them and rose from his sitting position on the roof top.

"Uh, sensei, w-why shouldn't we eat breakfast?" Hinata asked.

"Because you'll throw up." Kakashi said letting off a creepy aura as he said it.

The three new members of team 8 looked at each other as their sensei disappeared in a poof.

"Do you think he was serious that we'll throw up if we eat breakfast? I guess we better not chance it huh?" Naruto said to the others as he placed his hands behind his head and began to walk towards the roofs exit.

Hinata agreed and Shino remain quiet.

"You don't talk much huh Shino? Well, it's good to have you on the team, I am sure we'll become great teammates!" Naruto said with a bright smile and held out his hand.

"Like-wise Naruto and Hinata." Shino said taking the blondes hand. "I'll see you both tomorrow." He told them as he left the roof.

That left Naruto and Hinata on the roof alone together. The wind began to pick up and it caught Hinata's hair in it causing it to flow around her. The affect was not lost on Naruto as he looked at his best friend standing there looking at the sky as it was beginning to change colors in the coming evening.

_Wow, when did she become so beautiful?_ Naruto thought to himself blushing slightly before shaking his head but his godfather's words came back to him and he felt that same warm feeling in his stomach as he always did when he was with Hinata. He went to put his hands in his pocket when he felt something, it was the money Jiraiya had given to him almost two weeks ago.

_"__That's for the date your thinking about going on, and trust me, you should."_ His godfather's words came into his mind as he looked at Hinata who turned and smiled at him blushing slightly.

"Um, H-hinata, y-you, um, you look really p-pretty." Naruto stammered feeling butterfly's in his stomach as he spoke.

"Th-thank you Naruto." Hinata said smiling at him.

"Hey, would you, I dunno, want to maybe get something to eat?" He asked placing his hands behind his head.

"Sure, ramen?" She asked.

"Well, I, um, was kind of thinking, well, maybe barbeque or, um, sushi, or something, um, maybe, as, a, uh, I dunno, more um…" Naruto was having trouble asking, he really wasn't sure how to say what he was trying to say.

_Do I want to make it a date? Is that was Sagie was trying to tell me? I don't understand this feeling and why I am so nervous, she's my best friend!_ Naruto thought to himself.

Again the previous conversation about friends and girls and relationships came to his mind and he remembered that night in the valley of the toads when she had looked so beautiful by the waterfall. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

He had thought about it a lot over the last week and a half since his godfather had spoke to him about it. He was so mixed up inside, Hinata was his best friend but she made him feel so much better than simply being best friends. He had thought about her dating someone else, even kissing someone else, and it made him feel unhappy, really upset.

And as he stood there looking at her trying to find the courage and conviction to possibly cross the threshold before them he thought about what would happen if he didn't ask her and that scared him a lot more than he expected. He took another deep breath to calm his nerves.

Hinata was looking at Naruto curiously. She could see her was very nervous and that was making her nervous.

_Whats he trying to do? Oh god, is he trying to ask me on date?!?! I didn't think he'd ask me so soon! Please don't faint! Please don't faint!_ Hinata thought to herself as felt the blood rushing to her face. She wanted this so much but was so afraid for it to happen.

"Look, Hinata, you're my best friend and I'd do anything for you, and lately I've had these feelings and, well, I was wondering if you'd, like to, um, maybe go on a, uh, a date?" Naruto asked her as he looked everywhere but her before finally moving his eyes to watch her reaction.

Naruto's heart was doing belly flops, he had asked her!

_Oh god, now what do I do if she says no!? Did I make the right choice?! What's she thinking!?_ Naruto thought to himself.

The girls face lit-up and she smiled the biggest smile in her life. She had been talking to Kurenai about how she felt about Naruto each night but hadn't had the courage to tell him how she felt. Kurenai had smirked and said that someone had already beaten Naruto over the head with a brick about it. She hadn't entirely understood who else would know about her crush but she had decided if they were on her side then she didn't entirely need to know about it.

Naruto felt relief wash over him as Hinata's face smiled at him, "I've been wanting that for a while now Naruto." She said quietly.

Naruto looked rather shocked, he honestly had been expecting her to tell him he was too good of a friend and she didn't want to lose their friendship, but she had wanted this for a while? He looked at her and smiled softly before taking her hand. He had held her hand before but this time it was more gentle, the touch was deeper to them, and with soft smiles on their faces they left the roof top together and began to make their way toward a sushi shop.

Naruto and Hinata didn't act differently, although they did hold hands and blushed more, but they ate and talked like normal. They smiled a lot and most of the sushi staff thought they looked rather cute. However they weren't entirely sure about their jonin sensei and their conversation tended to be on their new team.

"I am not sure, he seems kind of weird. I mean, all we know about him is his name, and he seems intent to freak us out with the whole second genin test ya know?" Naruto said as he took another bite of sushi.

"I think he's nice, if it was Anko she would have thrown snakes or something at us." Hinata told him and he laughed.

"That's the truth! I do wish we could have had Kurenai though, she would have been awesome!" Hinata agreed with Naruto on that.

It wasn't too late, probably 7 or 8 o'clock, when Naruto walked Hinata back to her palce with Kurenai and they hugged each other before parting ways but looking forward to seeing one another the next day.

As Naruto was walking back toward his apartment though he discovered his night was far from over. Mizuki came walking toward him, he seemed to be on his way somewhere and he had a large scroll with him?

_The fox-brat, that monster should have been destroyed years ago! I just got a great idea…_ Mizuki thought to himself as his eyes widened slightly for a moment, he hadn't expected to meet anyone here but Naruto had decided to take the long way home as he thought about Hinata and tried to sort his feelings out for the girl.

"Hey Naruto," Mizuki said with a smile, "Would you want to do me a favor? I'm supposed to place this scroll deep into the forest for a couple of teams to compete for later in training their ANBU squads. But I don't want them to see me, so would you mind putting the scroll at a certain spot and waiting for me to come get it?"

_And while you're doing that I'll tell everyone that you stole the forbidden jutsu scroll!_ Mizuki thought to himself.

"Sure Mizuki-sensei, I'd be happy too!" Naruto said with a smile and took the scroll and headed off into the forest to meet Mizuki later that night, he was happy to help his former sensei.

Mizuki turned around and went immediately to find the group he already knew was going to be gathered soon to locate the scroll he had stolen.

Naruto found himself waiting in the forest, it had been easy enough to locate the spot Mizuki-sensei had told him and now he was bored so he had decided to open the scroll, it had some amazing jutsu written on it!

"I bet the winning ANBU team is supposed to get this jutsu, hehe, I'll just go ahead and try it out some before they get here!" Naruto said to himself as he began to study the jutsu on the scroll.

Elsewhere Iruka along with several squads of shinobi were frantically searching for Naruto. Mizuki had reported that Naruto had the forbidden jutsu scroll and that he was heading out of the village. Iruka frowned as he turned toward the forest, it made no sense to him why Naruto would take the scroll.

It wasn't long before Iruka managed to find Naruto sitting there with the scroll, he looked worn out, the scroll had been missing for nearly 12 hours, of his Naruto had had possession for a mere 7. Naruto waved at Iruka and smiled.

"Hey Iruka-sensei! So I guess you win the contest right?"

"Contest? Naruto, what are you talking about?!" Iruka asked him in an astonished voice.

"The one Mizuki-sensei told me to hide the scroll for. He said he didn't want the ANBU squads who were going to be looking for the scroll to see him hide it so he asked me to meet him here but he hasn't shown up. Since you got here first I guess you win right?" Naruto told him.

"Naruto, Mizuki gave you the scroll?! That's the forbidden scroll!" Iruka yelled as Mizuki appeared on a tree branch above them.

"That's right, and after I finish you off Iruka I'll kill Naruto, something that should have been done years ago, and I'll take the scroll and using the forbidden jutsu I'll become the most powerful shinobi in the world!" Mizuki had an almost insane gleam to his eye and he took off his two massive shuriken from his back.

"Naruto don't let him get the scroll! Run to the hokage quickly!" Iruka told him as he felt several Kurnai knives strike him, he managed to dodge several but he was still hit by some. He then jumped toward Mizuki who dodged Iruka with a smirk.

"You never could take me in a fight Iruka, always so damn weak, that's why I always had to protect you!" He told him throwing one of large suriken.

Iruka dodged the first one but the second one had been hidden behind the first one when they were thrown and struck the chunin instructor in the shoulder pinning him to the tree behind him.

Naruto looked at his former instructors but refused to run. He stood up and looked at Mizuki, the now traitor to his village. He made a hand sign and gathered his chakra.

"You hurt Iruka-sensei you traitor! You're a monster and a traitor!" Naruto said.

"Ha! You think _I'M_ the monster huh? Didn't you ever wonder why everyone hated you Naruto?," Mizuki said, Naruto stopped for a moment listening.

"It's because the fourth hokage couldn't kill the nine-tailed fox Naruto. Oh no, he couldn't KILL him, so instead he had to bind him into someone! YOU! YOU destroyed the village! YOU killed all of those people including Iruka's parents! HAHAHAHA" Mizuki laughed and as he laughed he felt a knee connect to his chin and Naruto whirled around striking with his other foot into Mizuki's stomach sending him into a tree before sliding to the ground.

"What?! How?!" Mizuki said as he staggered up, he had never expected the boy to be capable of such power behind his strikes.

_Damn Jiraiya! The pervert must have taught him something after all!_ Mizuki thought to himself.

_My father put a monster inside me, but Sagie and Kurenai told me about those creatures, and I am not that monster! _ Naruto thought to himself.

"I learned about the hosts for the tailed beasts a long time ago from Kurenai and Sagie, they told me about them and what the fourth hokage did. They told me how some became outsiders and hated but others worked to use their power to protect the people they cared about. If I am one of them then the fourth hokage must have seen something in me, and Iruka is one of my precious people and whether I have the fox in me or not, I'll protect him! NINJA ART: SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Suddenly there were a hundred Naruto's and Mizuki stared at the massive number, these weren't simply clones they were real!!! He felt their punches, kicks, and every strike until he was lying numb and unconscious on the ground.

Naruto breathed heavily, very tired from the exertion. He didn't look at Iruka as tears went down his face. But Iruka walked up to him anyway and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You know Naruto, none of us ever cared about that fox inside you. Not me, Kurenai, Anko, Jiraiya, or Hinata. We just want you to be Naruto Uzumaki, the same kid you've always been. Thank you for staying with me Naruto." Iruka said as Naruto turned around and hugged the man he thought of as his older brother.

"Naruto, how did you managed to learn that technique so quickly anyway?" Iruka asked him astonished.

"It was easy Iruka-sensei, it just requires a lot of chakra control and concentration, which I had a lot of thanks to Sagie's training in making seals and meditation techniques from summoning the toads. So it made learning the shadow clone technique easy! Although damn it was tiring to use so many." Naruto smiled at Iruka as they walked back toward the village.

They returned the scroll and Iruka walked Naruto to his apartment, it was almost 3 in the morning and Naruto had to meet his team the next day for their survival mission! But as Naruto lay in bed that night he thought of his father, the man who had sealed a demon inside him. And so many things made more sense, why the village had hated him, why he had so much stamina and chakra, but one thing didn't change, his friends, his family, they knew about the fox and didn't care and that was the final thought that passed through his mind as he passed on to sleep.

Author's Note: I know a lot happened in this chapter and Naruto is kind of rushing a bit with his date with Hinata but I figure he's had several weeks to roll things in his head and Naruto isn't known for being very patient so I went with it, you'll have to wait and see what happens for a second date though!


	18. Genin Test

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: Hey guys, wanted to get some updates that I've been working on over the past week to you all! Also I thought I'd let you in on a small secret, I've been working on a second story and starting a third one, both Naruto Fan Fictions. One is well underway and I will be publishing it soon, just want to finish up a few details on it and the direction the story will be going. Enjoy the upcoming Chapters!

**Chapter 18: Genin Test**

They returned the scroll and Iruka walked Naruto to his apartment, it was almost 3 in the morning and Naruto had to meet his team the next day for their survival mission! But as Naruto lay in bed that night he thought of his father, the man who had sealed a demon inside him. And so many things made more sense, why the village had hated him, why he had so much stamina and chakra, but one thing didn't change, his friends, his family, they knew about the fox and didn't care and that was the final thought that passed through his mind as he passed on to sleep.

Naruto woke up feeling a bit groggy the next morning but it was quickly expelled by the thoughts of his upcoming training with his new team and sensei. He ran outside and made this way to the practice field to meet up with Hinata and Shino. He got there just as they were arriving at the practice field. After about twenty minutes of waiting Naruto laid down telling the others he was going back to sleep and promptly fell asleep while they waited for their sensei.

Hinata looked at the blonde boy sleeping and blushed lightly smiling at the thoughts of the previous night. Her blush increased in tempo until she realized Shino was looking at her with a raised eyebrow and she promptly looked away pretending to stare at something in the trees.

It was several hours later when Kakashi finally showed up and Hinata shook Naruto awake and they yelled at him, "HEY! YOU'RE LATE!"

Kakashi put a hand behind his head shrugged, "Yes, well, my clock was set incorrectly, but anyway, here is your assignment." Kakashi took two bells out of his pocket and showed them to his three students.

"You have to get these two bells from me. Those who manage it get lunch while the third is tied to the post there." Kakashi said pointing to the three large posts in the ground as he pressed a small timer down. "You have until noon to get a bell. Also the one who doesn't get a bell will fail and be sent back to the academy having failed the genin test."

Kakashi was about to continue when Naruto narrowed his eyes at the bells and before anyone could say anything he threw three kunai at Kakashi and followed up with an attack of his own while a clone attempted to get the bells from behind. Kakashi promptly vanished only to appear behind Naruto with a Kunai to his neck.

"Now, I wasn't done. You didn't even give me a chance to say Go. However it was good that you aimed to kill, come at me with the intent to kill or you won't have a chance," Kakashi said as Naruto growled at him.

"Ok, GO!" Kakashi said as all three disappeared into the forest. Naruto created a clone to quickly locate Hinata and Shino. When his clones had located his teammates they were led back to where Naruto was so they could group up.

"Ok guys, we have to get these stupid bells. I know one of us has to get without lunch and might be sent back to the academy, but I figure he can't fail us if we all try our hardest. Besides he's starting to get on my nerves with his 'too cool' attitude and I just want to see him go down." Naruto told them.

"So I have an idea." Naruto began to explain his idea and Hinata nodded. Shino remained quiet before finally speaking.

"Naruto, your idea won't work against a trained jonin. But it might give us a chance to see a few things." He said as he held out a finger and bug began flying toward their sensei. "Go ahead and try Naruto."

Kakashi was standing in the field, they had hidden themselves well enough, and he had retrieved his book from his pouch. He was reading it when he noticed a noise and movement from a bush. He got ready for whatever his students might be thinking to try only to see a small brown rabbit hop forward.

"Hello there." Kakashi said to the bunny.

The bunny looked at him and began to move past Kakashi as he went back to his book. The bunny continued to move past Kakashi when a glimmer of evil intelligence sparked in its eye and the bunny suddenly jumped up in an attempt to get a bell. Kakashi grabbed the bunny by the ears and brought it up to his face chuckling.

"You guys are going to have to do better than that if you want a bell, shadow clones combined with transformation jutsu, I would hope you'd have more respect for me than that." It was then he noticed a small paper bomb attached to the bunnies stomach.

_Oh… _Kakashi thought as it exploded only to have a small poof as a piece of wood took the damage from the blast rather than him. Kakashi had completely disappeared from the battlefield.

Naruto was frustrated that his sensei had managed to figure out that it was a clone AND avoid the paper bomb. Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked for their sensei. She didn't see him anywhere.

"I told you that wouldn't work against a jonin Naruto. But my bug slipped on him while he was distracted. He's currently underground, I think we would be best… Are you listening Naruto?" Shino asked.

Naruto was fastening paper bombs to a dozen kunai knives. "Yeah, these are sonic paper bombs, they use a focused wind jutsu stored in them to blow the ground up where he's hiding. Sagie had me work on them during our training last year. Go ahead with your plan Shino."

"Oh… well, I was thinking we need to combine out attacks if we want to beat him." Shino began to explain his idea while Hinata and Naruto listened. They nodded to him and decided to give it a try.

Kakashi was wondering what the three might try next when a dozen kunai knives suddenly struck the ground. Curious he wondered what they were trying when they suddenly went off releasing a massive amount of wind jutsu causing the ground to rupture and break apart exposing a very startled Kakashi.

_Holy Crap! Jiraiya must have taught him to make those, no genin should have access to those kinds of specialized paper bombs!_ Kakashi thought to himself.

The jutsu wasn't created to be flashy or explosive but rather it sent a shockwave into the ground itself like someone had unleashed a small localized earthquake, one moment the field was peaceful and green and the next cracks began to spread and the other was broken into huge, jagged pieces all over the place exposing everything underneath them. The attack was immediately followed by a swarm of insects crawling into the now destroyed earth. Toward the jonin sensei!

Kakashi immediately flew into the air to get away from the bugs when he saw several water needles going for him while he was in the air. He blocked them all as he fell back to the earth and then Naruto's clones came at him.

Naruto had created nearly two hundred clones and sent them in all at once. Unforuntately none of them knew how to fight together and Kakashi had no trouble using them against one another. With a solid blow the clones immediately poofed into smoke and it wasn't long before Kakashi had finished with them.

_Hmmmmm, all those attacks did nothing and only wore them out but none of them showed themselves either and they've probably already moved their location since then. Not a bad strategy, I doubt Hinata and Naruto came up with it, if I was to guess it would the Aburame._ Kakashi thought to himself as he went back to his book. _I think I'll wait and see what they do next, that wasn't a bad bit of work that time… and I want to finish this chapter!_

Naruto, Hinata, and Shino had moved their location for the third time. They had tried another combination attack but again Kakashi had brushed it off as if it was nothing. When their last attempt had failed and Naruto had sent in the clones to give them some cover while they moved. All they were doing was wearing themselves out and Kakashi didn't seem slightly winded.

"Wow, I never expected him to be so fast and able to block all those attacks, it didn't seem to even bother him!" Naruto said to the others. They nodded in agreement.

"So, any ideas?" The three looked from their position, their sensei hadn't moved since landing back on the ground and taking care of Naruto's clones. He was simply continuing to read his book, like he didn't have a care in the world amidst the destroyed earth around him.

The three consulted for a few minutes evaluating what they had seen. Jiraiya had made sure to instill in his pupils the importance of watching and learning about their enemy as much as possible before making a second attack.

"Ok, so we know he's experienced, fast, very strong, and apparently likes that book." Naruto said. They were still trying to come up with a plan when Hinata noticed something.

"Um… he's gone." The three genin hopefuls looked to where their sensei had been a moment before only to find him gone.

A feeling of dread surrounded them as they turned around and saw Kakashi looking at them, "So, this is where you guys were hiding huh? By the way, I think this is yours Shino." Kakashi said as he held out a bug who flew back its master.

The three genin immediately freaked out and broke out of the forest in flight heading onto the field before them toward the river hoping to make it to the other side and into the trees beyond. However they found their sensei was much faster than them and was suddenly standing in front of them.

"I suggest you guy's hurry, not much time left to get those bells you know." He said as flipped another page in his book.

Naruto took the front this time and continuing toward their sensei rather than retreating again, he went into a stance and struck with a kick to the stomach followed by a strike with his palm to the head, both of which kakashi dodged easily.

"Hinata! The Water!" Naruto yelled.

"Right!" Hinata responded and jumped past the pair to the river behind them landing on the water.

_They know how to water walk already?! Jiraiya wasn't wasting his time with them,_ Kakashi thought as he ducked another of Naruto's attacks.

Naruto and Kakashi traded blows quickly for a for moments, Kakashi merely dodging and blocking but finding he couldn't simply read his book as he previously has thought he could. Naruto brought a kick to his sensei's head which was blocked and Kakashi decided it was time Naruto learned a lesson himself.

Kakashi began to strike back forcing Naruto on the defensive but neither one actually managed a clean blow. Hook, high kick, sweep kick, parry, block, kick, and the dance continued between the two. Kakashi was pleasantly surprised at the speed and accuracy which Naruto moved and the concentration of the blonde boy.

Shino moved further back to examine the situation, the bug user began to send insects out toward Naruto's opponent planning on draining his chakra from his body. But to the surprise of both Naruto and Shino the Kakashi before them suddenly poofed, proving to be a fake the moment Shino's bugs landed on him.

_When did he change himself for a shadow clone!_ Naruto thought as he saw his sensei coming up from the water behind his best friend.

"Hinata behind you!" Naruto called as he saw Kakashi suddenly rise directly from the water.

"BOO!" Kakashi said to the girl.

Hinata shrieked and jumped back bringing her hands up in defense barely blocking a strike by Kakashi. She then took several deep breaths and began to fight back. She'd bring a kick toward him flowing into a strike to his shoulder then sweeping under his legs, he'd block and move to counter but to his surprise the water followed her attacks. The water didn't entirely block his counter attacks but it proved to hinder his movements enough to allow Hinata to avoid him. Hinata was much better at taijutsu than Naruto was since she was more experienced with her style, especially when she had a water source nearby to draw water around her from.

_Impressive ability, I'd heard about the water dance but I've never seen it before, very good, but she is too defensive,_ Kakashi thought to himself

Kakashi then decided he was tired of playing the game with the girl and with a blur of speed brought a kick to her mid-section sending her out of the water and into her two teammates who were trying to find a way to help her. The three stood up looking at their sensei breathing hard.

"Not bad you three, good use of different abilities in combined attacks although it's obvious you've never worked together. Your first attacks had too much separation between them. If your attacks had been better timed you might have gotten me that first attempt but now your highly exposed and its time you guys learned to respect your sensei." He told them with an evil grin underneath his mask.

_Their initial attack was impressive, but the bugs came too quickly and were partially caught in the blast of the tags and then the second attack took place while I was falling, not stranded in mid-air which would have made it much harder to maneuver, the second attempt was plagued by similar issues as well,_ Kakashi thought to himself.

And with that Kakashi rushed forward into the middle of the three launching an attack at Shino who took a strike to his stomach causing him to tumble away from the group. Naruto and Hinata didn't fare much better as they managed to block the attack but were forced apart as well. Now that Kakashi had all three of them separated he wondered how they would attack, if they'd try coordinating again or attack on their own.

They knew they were running out of time to get those bells and they were hungry and they all were growing tired. Naruto again took the intiative and launched an attack summoning more clones to help him. Again it proved rather useless against Kakashi who simply destroyed the clones and went one on one with Naruto. Kakashi was the obvious superior of the two with Naruto just barely holding his own.

Hinata rejoined the battle as Naruto was pushed further and further back toward the water sending water needles at Kakashi who simply dodged them and at the end managed to direct Naruto into the needles.

The needles struck Naruto head on who just managed to raise his arms in defense. After that Hinata stopped throwing needles, making so many at one time was wearing greatly on her and she was having trouble remaining standing on the water. Shino, for his part, was again trying to send his bugs to swarm around Kakashi but was having trouble because Naruto wouldn't disengage long enough to let him get a clear shot.

The buzzer sounded and three students backed up and collapsed around one another, they were worn out and all had their heads hanging.

"Well, I guess another year won't be too bad right? Maybe we won't get the supercharged jonin next to year heh." Naruto said as he took another deep breath to calm his beating heart.

"Could be worse." Was all Shino said.

Hinata nodded her agreement feeling caught by the emotion of having failed and unable to voice herself.

Kakashi walked up to the three and looked at them before dropping a boxed lunch before each of them. They looked up at and he had a fourth box in his hands.

"You pass." He told them simply.

"But sensei! You said we had to get the bells and none of us got the bells! How can we pass?!" Naruto asked dumbstruck.

_Idiot, don't ask questions, just be glad you passed_, Shino thought to himself but was still rather curious.

"Obviously Lord Jiraiya taught you something important, most genin run away and fight on their own. The exercise was about teamwork and you all worked well together. It was a smart move to get everyone together with your clones Naruto and then to listen to Shino's plan, which would have work if you had better timing and aimed both at me and the bells with some better accuracy, but that's to be expected and comes with time, training and experience.

"Shino's bug located me, your paper bombs broke the ground but your bugs were caught in the blast partially giving me ample time to escape and if you had attacked right as I reached mid-air before following I would have been a much easier target Hinata.

"Your second attempt was plagued by similar issues of being uncoordinated and too much lag time between attacks. A coordinated attack flows from one to another as if it's one solid movement. At the end you were too busy trying to face me one on one Naruto to let Shino or Hinata help you and Hinata was relying too much on ranged attacks without enough accuracy and distance to be affective. You would have been better off using a water rope to try and hold an arm or something rather than be on the offensive.

"The entire point of the exercise is teamwork, not the bells and you passed that. You are now officially team 8, congratulations. Enjoy your lunch, I will see you tomorrow at hokage tower at 7 a.m. for our first official mission."

And with that Kakashi disappeared and the three happy genin enjoyed the most delicious meal they had ever had.


	19. Team 8's Mission

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: That's right more than one update in a day! I wanted to take a moment before I continue though and thank some people in specific for reading this story from the beginning and making very helpful comments. Many thanks to: Hee-Ho Master, Dragon Man 180, Leaf Ranger, Hypnotic Flames, Hektols, Chewie Cookies, Riku Uzumaki, Konismyname, Rose Tiger, Brokenfromthepast, Anthony1, Wisdom-jewel, and Driftstar! I also want to extend my thanks to everyone for the reviews so far and ask you to please keep reviewing and letting me know what you think! Your comments and suggestions are one of the driving forces behind this fan fiction so thank you all! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I think it's a particularly good one!

**Chapter 19: Team 8's Mission**

Over the next several weeks team 8 completed missions for the village, they were all D rank and ranged anywhere from cleaning the river of garbage to catching the terrible cat Tora who continuously escaped from the fire lords wife, Madam Shijimi, and the village's genin were constantly having to recapture.

Strangely while the cat hated Naruto and Shino, and would go out of its way to scratch their faces until they were almost unrecognizable, it loved Hinata and would jump into her arms at the very sight of her. The first day they were chasing the cat Naruto had had it cornered in an alley.

**Flashback**

"I've got the target caught in the alley, moving in for the capture!" Naruto's voice came through the radio to his teammates.

"Hold on Naruto, we're almost there, be careful!" Hinata said and Shino, who no one could see, had the sunlight move around the rims of his glasses, which Kakashi was still trying to figure out how the boy did.

Naruto was in one of the many dead end ally's in Konoha, his target was staring at him with bright eyes watching the boy closely. The bright red ribbon tied to the cat's ear signified it as the proper target. Naruto moved in slowly, his guard up, he already had many cuts and nicks on his body from the creature's claws and he knew how dangerous the beast was.

Naruto moved within a few streps of the beast before jumping and catching it! The cat then proceeded the claw his face in its attempt to escape. Right then Shino and Hinata arrived on the scene and watched as Naruto's face was sliced up by the cat's claws.

Hinata giggled slightly and said, "Awwww, kitty kitty kitty, come on Tora, be a good girl."

Tora stopped scratching Naruto and looked Hinata and promptly ran up and jumped in her arms and purred. Hinata pet the cat as Naruto cried in pain on the pavement before them.

**End Flashback**

"I'm so sick of that cat, I'm glad she likes Hinata cause it makes it ten times easier to bring her back, my face still hurts from those claws!" Naruto said as they saw the cat being carried away by its owner. Naruto thought he saw the cat crying as its owner crushed its body and head in a big hug.

"She's not so bad… you just have to get her to like you that's all." Hinata said.

Again Shino simply caught the sun on his glasses and Kakashi was still wondered how he did it.

_That must be some ancient Aburame clan secret…_ Kakashi thought to himself.

"Alright guys, take the rest of the day off, we'll meet tomorrow for another mission." And with that Kakashi disappeared.

"Yeah right, I heard Sagie came out with another book today and I bet Kakashi-sensei is off to pick it up and spend the day reading it the pervert." Naruto said.

Shino shrugged and was walking away while Hinata and Naruto were heading toward Kurenai's. It had been a couple of weeks since their first date and Naruto had been trying to ask her for a second one but they simply had not had the time with all of their missions and training and Kakashi watching them all the time.

"Hey Hinata, uh, would you like to go out again tonight? I was thinking we could go to the barbeque place and maybe go look at the flowers you like?" Naruto asked.

"I'd like that Naruto!" She said with a smile, she had been getting rather frustrated that he hadn't asked her out again and Kurenai had dropped a rather large hinter that he should probably not waste anymore time. Naruto still had the bruise from the punch to the head it came with.

**Flashback**

The night after their first date Hinata had walked into the house on cloud 9, she was so happy! It hadn't been a big thing, just dinner, but she had dreamed of what it would be like to have a date with Naruto for such a long time. Kurenai noticed her charge came in with a huge smile on her face and saw Naruto walking away with a goofy grin on his and was more than able to put the two facts together.

"So who asked who out finally?" She asked.

"Um, well, N-naruto, asked m-me." Hinata responded and Kurenai hugged her, happy for the girl she looked at as her adopted little sister.

"I'm so happy for you! I know you've wanted that for such a long time! I'll make some tea and I want to hear everything ok?" Kurenai told her with a big smile and went to make tea.

A few minutes later Hinata was recounting how they had been on the roof top with the wind blowing and how Naruto had asked her to go have sushi with him and told her he wanted to make it a date!

"He was so cute, his face got all scrunched and he kept looking around and he was so nervous when he asked me and I felt like I was going to faint before I could say yes! And we held hands and walked all the way there and we talked about our team and our jonin-sensei, his name is Kakashi Hatake by the way, and then we walked all the way back holding hands. It was so wonderful!"

Kurenai smiled at her and listened as Hinata told her all about their evening and how they had laughed and talked but mostly she was happy he had held her hand the entire time. She was surprised to hear Kakashi was their sensei since Anko had mentioned she was going to be working with the kids.

"I'm so happy for you with your new team and Naruto! Kakashi is a very good jonin and will be a very good instructor for you!" Kurenai said.

"What about your team? Are they good?" Hinata asked.

"Unforutnately I'm not allowed to talk to you about them too much right now, maybe in a few months once you guys have all gotten settled." Kurenai said with a smile and a wink.

_But if that Uchiha doesn't get rid of that chip on his shoulder and the pink haired girl doesn't stop going googoo all over him I think I might pull my hair out…_ She thought to herself privately.

It was about a week and a half after that conversation when Kurenai had asked to chat with Naruto one night in private.

"You know, Hinata's been wondering when your second date is going to be…" Kurenai said, Naruto was too oblivious to notice the menace in her tone.

"Yeah, I'd like to go out again and really enjoyed our first date but we've just been so busy we just haven't had time." Naruto said as he placed his hands behind his head.

The next thing Naruto felt was a fist connecting with his skull as he plummeted to the ground and a rather large bruise appearing.

"My suggestion, Naruto, is to ask her before that bruise wears off, k?" Kurenai said in a rather sweet voice accompanied by a smile.

**End Flashback **

"Great! How about I meet you at Kurenai's in like an hour?" Naruto said which Hinata nodded and left to get ready.

An hour later, approximately 5:00 p.m. Naruto arrived at Kurenai's, he was wearing black cargo pants with his ninja sandals and an orange shirt with his usual orange jacket with black strips running down the front and the red swirl emblems on the arms. He knocked as he usually did and Kurenai came to the door and smiled at him.

"Good to see you Naruto, Hinata's almost ready, come on in!" Naruto nodded watching her carefully and rubbing the almost faded bruise on his head.

As he walked into Kurenai and Hinata's house Hinata came out of her room and smiled, she had her hair braided down her back and was wearing her usual fishnet body suit along with a soft purple skirt, white shirt, and purple jacket which was zipped up.

As Kurenai smiled the two left holding hands heading to the flower shop Hinata liked. Naruto had known for a long time how much his best friend liked flowers and over the years whenever he came to a new village he had sent her seeds since he couldn't send a regular plant. When she had moved in with Kurenai they had decided to begin a garden in their backyard and Hinata had planted the seeds. Their backyard was known to have many rare flowers and herbs which were not normally seen in Konoha.

The plants which couldn't survive in Konoha's climate were kept in-doors if possible, otherwise they remained seeds. However Hinata still loved to go to the flower shop and browse, sometimes bringing home a new plant or flower she found she liked or had medicinal purposes.

As they entered the flower shop they saw Ino's mother there, her family having owned the shop for as long as either of them could remember.

"Hello you two! How are you?" She asked with a smile, they smiled back and said they were doing fine and just looking to browse a bit.

They walked through the greenhouse viewing the different colored plants, the shades of red, green, blue, violet, and many more made Hinata smile brightly. She began to talk about the different plants and their uses and the new ones she had recently planted in the garden at their house.

"We found this really unique flower whose petals can be used to make a cure to some really aweful poisons, there aren't many in Konoha because the soil isn't very good for them so we're trying to raise several and they look so great so far!" Hinata said as she smelled some white flowers.

Naruto looked her as Hinata leaned her face near the flowers to smell them, her braided hair fell over her shoulder and the sunlight catching it just right. Naruto blushed, _She is so pretty_, he thought to himself.

"That's so cool Hinata! I never knew you were growing so many different varieties of flowers and plants!" Naruto said.

They wandered around the shop for about an hour or two and Hinata was telling him more about the recent arrivals to her and Kurenai's garden when they began to leave. As they were leaving Naruto asked her to wait for him outside. He ran back in and returned with a single cherry blossom. Hinata blushed deeply when he placed it in her hair.

"The most beautiful flowers are the ones I see in your hair." He said as she blushed even more and he took her hand as they walked toward the barbeque shop.

They seated themselves in a side corner and were waiting for their food to cook as they talked, the cherry blossom resting comfortably in Hinata's hair. They talked about their team and the cat tora as they waited, Hinata liked the cat, and she always had a way with animals around her that Naruto didn't seem to have. Her gentle nature made a lot of animals comfortable in her presence and want to be around her.

"I'm glad she likes you, after the first couple times when Shino and I got scratched up so badly it was nice that you were able to get her to just jump in your arms, we find her and you tame her hahaha." Naruto said as their food cooked.

Hinata smiled shyly, "Well, you guys do a lot of the work getting her cornered. I'm glad we have Shino on the team, he's really good at seeing the big picture."

"Yeah, I agree, he sees the big battle picture and not just the person in front, I guess it has to do with all the bugs he has, he can get an overview of the battlefield. I bet we'll be able to get the bells away from Kakashi-sensei with a little more training!"

Hinata agreed before changing the subject, "Naruto, I've been thinking about something."

"What's that?" He asked as he started to take the food from the grill. The Barbeque shop was set up around the idea of grills in front of each table. The food was then brought out and placed on the grill so the customers could grill them as they liked with any of the provided spices or sauces.

"Well, I was thinking about my family and the branch and main family separation. The caged bird seal, it's just so wrong. If it had happened differently I would have that seal on me! My family is so broken, they fight and fight and hurt one another constantly. I know my dad disinherited me and I probably shouldn't care but I do, it is wrong to treat people that way no matter whose family it is! There is an old law in the clan that allows anyone of Hyuga blood to challenge the head of the family for control of the family. I-it hasn't been used by anyone in years, since before my father was born, but if I could become strong enough I could challenge my dad and my sister, I could take control of the clan and change things."

She had thought about it for a long time, she didn't want anyone to ever have to experience what she went through ever again. No one should be thought weak because they were kind and gentle, but she couldn't change things from the outside. Even if Naruto became Hokage the Hyuga clan would still continue their traditions and continue to put down the branch family. Someone had to step up and make a change, someone had to be willing to fight back.

Naruto looked at the girl in front of him in awe, he had never heard Hinata speak with such conviction or courage before. She was always so shy and timid but the fire in her eyes brought warmth to his heart and he nodded taking her hand under the table without thinking about it.

"And I'll do everything in my power to help you Hinata. You'll become the leader of your clan and I'll become the Hokage and we'll change things for the better!" Hinata smiled at him, grateful to know he supported her.

They ate their food while they talked about how they would get stronger and the future before them. As they finished Naruto and Hinata walked back to Kurenai's, it was later than they had expected and as they reached the door Naruto hugged Hinata goodnight. As he turned to leave Hinata did something he didn't expect, she laid her lips to his cheek giving him a quick kiss before turning and running inside, her face so red that it might actually have been giving off light in the darkness.

Naruto brought his hand to his cheek where she had kissed him as he walked back to his apartment and smiled.

The next day Naruto, Shino, Hinata, and Kakashi were standing before the third hokage along with several of his assistants, including Iruka. They were being assigned another mission, which happened to be to locate Tora once again.

"Good grief! Can't that woman go find her own damned cat and let us take more important missions! Come on Old Man, we've been doing D-rank missions for weeks, we should be given something at least a bit more important than finding that damn cat again!" Naruto complained to the third hokage he smiled.

Kakashi sighed, _He certainly doesn't have a problem telling people what's on his mind_

"Naruto, you can't just expect to get high rank missions right off the bat, you have to go through what every genin goes through, D-rank missions until you have enough experience to go on C rank missions. And what you don't understand is that Tora is a valuable source of income for the village. You see the village is paid for every mission we complete. When someone wants us to go on a mission we assign it a difficulty level based on the information we are given.

"A rank, being the hardest, are reserved for jonin, B rank are jonin and some very experienced chunin, while C rank are for chunin and some very experienced genin teams, and finally D rank missions are the easiest and given to new genin, such as yourselves. The higher the difficulty the more the village charges for the mission and the higher the income for the village."

Iruka finished his explination but Naruto didn't seem satisfied, the third hokage smiled remembering a similar situation involving his father and Jiraiya. Although Jiraiya had agreed with his pupil and wanted a harder mission as well at the time, at least Kakashi seemed unconcerned with the mission difficulty for his team.

"Ok Naruto, you want a tougher mission, we do happen to have a rather easy C rank mission that you can take, it's a body guard mission, would that satisfy you?" The hokage said.

"Yay! Let us at it! Thanks Old Man!" Naruto said pumping his fist in the air.

"There is only one catch, since your team is still rather inexperienced I am going to be assigning a second jonin to your group to help with the mission. Will you please send her in…" The Hokage barely finished the statement when a brown blur came in through the window.

Anko Mitarashi was standing there giving Kakashi and his team a thumbs up while Kakashi had an aura of dread around him.

_What's she doing here…_ Kakashi thought to himself as he got a bad feeling in the back of his mind.

_Doesn't anyone use a door anymore…_ The hokage thought as he stared longly at the unused door.

"Anko, you will accompany team 8 and provide assistance as necessary, understand?" The hokage said. _And stop bugging me about not getting Naruto and Hinata as your genin team…_

**Flashback**

"I'm sorry about you not receiving a genin team this year Anko but I believe you'll be busy enough working with the chunin exams and I did not want to take you away from such an important event," the hokage had told Anko trying to calm her down.

"Lord Hokage, you know I could make your life rather unpleasant if I wanted too, I just want to be allowed my time to help train the kids, I know them better than Kakashi and I am sure they'd enjoy having the extra training!" Anko said to the Hokage in the days after the teams were announced and she found out rather than receiving a genin team she would be working on the chunin exams.

"And how are you planning on making things unpleasant Anko?" The hokage asked rather curious.

"Oh, I don't know, I could always go paint every face on the Hokage Mountain a different color, or I could release thousands of snakes in the village or some other rather disastrous act that will leave you stuck with paper work until your hands are as wrinkled as your face!" Anko said in complete seriousness.

The Hokage was considered one of the most powerful shinobi in the world and his paled at the threat, "You… you wouldn't! That's inhuman Anko!"

The thought of the mountain of paperwork she could cause him made him want to cry. Why if she just performed her threat on the Hokage Mountain he would be stuck for days filling out repair forms, assigning work crews, reassigning teams from normal duty to cover the teams taken off duty to repair the mountain, finding the money in the budget, and if she did it multiple times he wouldn't be able to leave the office for months!

"I'm not asking to be their sensei, I can't change that after all, just let me go on a mission with them, pppllllleeeaaasssseeee! I won't put anymore snakes in your office!" Anko promised grinning viciously.

_She's worse than Orochimaru! _He thought to himself

**End Flashback**

"Uh, Lord Hokage, I am sure that Anko would be much more useful elsewhere, I have no doubt a simple escort mission is well within the capabilities of my squad and I wouldn't want to deprive the village of one of its fine jonin." Kakashi told his leader in an attempt to stop what he saw coming.

"Nope, she's completely clear to go." The hokage said, he was tired of coming into the office and worrying about it being filled with snakes again.

"Don't worry Kakashi, I'll make sure not to step on your toes, you won't even know I'm there." Anko told him with a grin.

Kakashi sighed again in defeat and Naruto and Hinata beamed at the thought of having Anko going with them on the mission.

"Ok send him in please Iruka." The hokage said now that it was settled.

Iruka escorted an older man into the room, he was well built from obvious years of hard work and his body was layered in muscle only gotten from construction work. His skin was tanned form the sun and his hair was peppered with gray. He was also roaring drunk and held a sake bottle in his hand.

"So these are the brats who are supposed to protect me huh?! They don't look so strong, especially blondie and the dark haired girl there!" He said as he took another swig from the sake bottle.

"I assure you, they are more than capable. Everyone, may I introduce Tazuna, the master bridge builder. You will be escorting him to the land of waves." The hokage said with a smile.


	20. Land of Waves Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: So I just finished up the Land of Waves arc. I tried to make it different from the standard canon arc and show their training regiment some along with Anko's inclusion. In particular I'd like for some constructive criticism on the fight scenes on these chapters because I am hoping to improve those for future chapters. I hope you enjoy chapter 20!

**Chapter 20: Land of Waves Part 1**

Naruto, Shino, Hinata, Kakashi, and Anko were gathered at the gate to the village in less than an hour when Tazuna arrived. He was drunk still and in his hand was a fresh Sake Bottle. The Leaf Shinobi said nothing as the drunken old man swaggered to where they were standing.

"Welllll, at leassssst we have a prrrrretty young woman with usssss to help passssss the time!" Tazuna laughed drunkenly looking at Anko.

Anko raised an eyebrow and smiled winking to Naruto, Kakashi, and Hinata.

"OH Yes, and we will pass the time quite well won't we Mr. Tazuna," Anko said in a sultry voice as she swung her hips and and strode over to the drunken man.

Tazuna grinned in his inebriated state at the way Anko responded. He was surprised his small joke had garnered her notice as she moved close to him and smiled seductively as he grinned and turned his head to look down her shirt at her ample breasts. And it was almost the last thing Tazuna saw as a viper jumped out from between her breasts and wrapped itself around Tazuna's neck. Tazuna fell back onto his rear and became very still as the snake slithered around his neck coming to rest heavily before falling asleep.

"I highly suggest you don't drink any more while we're on this mission Tazuna, it would be horrible if my little friend here got agitated and nipped you. He doesn't like the smell of Sake very much and it really makes his fangs itch," Anko informed him.

Tazuna stammered something intelligible as he tossed the Sake bottle away, his eyes wide with fear.

Kakashi watched the incident with a detached eye, normally he would have interviened but he personally agreed with Anko and had disliked working for a drunk. He had planned to have a talk with Tazuna but it no longer seemed necessary.

_I heard Iruka's dating her now, I think my opinion of him just went up quite a bit_, Kakashi mussed.

Anko walked back to Naruto and Kakashi who were both eyeing her with a new sense of respect and fear while Hinata wondered what tricks the snake-lady might teach her for future use. She looked at them and laughed.

"That's nothing boys, you should have seen Iruka's face the first time I told him he had to carry a small viper behind his zipper. No one touches Anko Mitarashi's property!" She told them with a smirk.

They nodded and began their journey to the land of waves. Anko was busy laughing with Naruto and Hinata at first but quickly got into a discussion with Shino about the bug user and the tactics he used in battle. She began to explain some different ideas she had had about the battlefield and how to use the bugs from her experience with his fellow clansmen.

Kakashi was reading his book as they continued forward and Naruto and Hinata were talking quietly. As they passed a puddle on the road Anko and Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly and Hinata had a chill enter her spine. As they passed it two shinobi appeared from the puddle and attacked them, they threw a massive chain around Kakashi and Anko who had been near one another and pulled them back to back before using the chain to slice the two jonin into pieces.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI! ANKO!" Naruto yelled as he watched his friend and sensei possibly die in front of him. He then felt a presence by his ear but before the person could speak Naruto spun bringing his foot up toward the man's head who promptly blocked the attack with a massive metal gauntlet. Naruto narrowed his eyes and continued his assault striking with his hands and legs. Shino and Hinata fell back to back while Naruto fought one of the shinobi one on one and the other charged the remaining two genin.

He shot a shuriken from his gauntlet with a chain attached to it at them. Hinata and Shino moved apart as the shurkien struck where they had been standing, Shino landing near Tazuna and Hinata landing near where Anko and Kakashi had been when the attack began but had turned into blocks of wood.

Hinata fell into her stance and began to dodge and strike back at the man but was unable to actually strike her opponent either. She used her new flexibility to snap her palm to toward the enemies heart. When he blocked that she brought her knee up to strike his chin but he dodged and she swung her body around with a kick. Shino fell back and Naruto and Hinata kept the two attackers between them, Shino, and Tazuna behind Shino. Shino released his bugs but rather than going for the shinobi he had them land on their chains and begun to crawl up the chain toward the men.

Naruto and Hinata kept their attention so before they noticed it Shino's insects had covered them and begun to drain their chakra. They also did not notice Anko and Kakashi appear behind them.

"NINJA ART: SNAKE BINDING JUTSU" Anko said as dozens of snakes erupted from the sleeves of her coat to wrap around the shinobi attacking Hinata and immobilizing the man while Kakashi incapacitated his with a direct strike to the back of the neck.

"Good job guys, I was impressed, you didn't seem phased at all by their attack and nice teamwork, I don't think we really needed to step in but I felt, as your sensei, I probably shouldn't let you take all the credit," Kakashi told them.

Now that Naruto and the others were able to get a closer look at their attackers they saw their faces were entirely covered by strange masks and wore green and grey pants with black robes over themselves and their forehead protectors showed them to be Mist shinobi.

"These are the demon brothers from the hidden mist village, I think our bridge builder has some left some things out of his report to us," Kakashi said.

Kakashi turned to Tazuna but before he could say anything Anko already had the man by the front of his shirt, "What the hell old man! The information supplied didn't say anything about rival shinobi on your tail! You better start talking or my snakes are going to get itching for a taste of your hide, got it?"

To reinforce her point Anko let several snakes rise out of the sleeve of her overcoat and held them to the mans face whose eyes widened greatly.

_Where does she keep all of those damned snakes, maybe I'll have to ask Iruka sometime…_ Kakashi thought to himself.

Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder, "I think he has the idea and won't be misleading us anymore. You see Tazuna, the information you supply to us is very important because it tells us what kind of shinobi to send on the mission, by not giving us proper information you risk our lives and yours. I am sure you wouldn't want us to continue without the proper information, now would you?"

"Uh, No, of course not! I guess there might have been a few things I left out in my original report when I requested your villages help." Tazuna said his eyes now wide and his thoughts filled with snakes.

Looking down at the ground the old bridge builder continued, "There is a man who wants me dead, his name is Gato, the billionaire owner of all the marine transport and shipping. But he is only a business man on the surface, he uses gangs and shinobi and traffics in drugs and contraband to make his real money! He set his sights on my home, the land of waves, a few years ago and now he owns everything and controls all the commerce!

"The only thing he fears is the bridge that we've been working on to connect us to mainland. If we can finish the bridge we can regain control of our commerce and our country from him! I know I should have asked for a higher level squad but we can't afford it. Even our local feudal lords are very poor. If you all leave me, I am as good as dead."

Kakashi sighed and looked at his genin, "Well team, you heard him, this is now a B-ranked mission, do you want to keep going or start heading back?"

It wasn't even a question for the squad, they all chose to continue, and it looked like a lucky break that Anko had been assigned to the squad as well. Kakashi felt a slight chill go down his spine as he always did when things seemed to be going bad and he sighed, "This is going to get worse…"

**Secret Ninja Hideout**

Elsewhere at an unknown location a short, overweight man in an over expensive business suit was talking to a tall one reclining on a chair in front of him. The lower portion of his face was covered and a massive sword was resting comfortably on his shoulder. He wore dark combat pants and combat boots with no shirt on.

"Well, looks like those two idiots you sent got themselves caught and Tazuna has bodyguards now! I paid good money for your services Zabuza and I expect results!" The man said to the reclining figure.

"You'll get them Gato, we didn't expect Tazuna to hire bodyguards from the leaf, but I am the Demon of the Mist and I _will_ fulfill my part of the bargain. They will be dead, and the bridgebuilder with them. That I can assure you of, I will see to it personally."

**Back with Naruto and his team**

Naruto, Hinata, Shino, Kakashi, Anko, and Tazuna had continued their way to the land of waves with few problems. They remained on alert knowing that another attack was likely. While they walked Anko explained the concepts protecting against a surprise attack to the young genin.

"An ambush is one of the best ways to commit an assassination. In particular the best way is to use a ranged attack like the demon brothers tried with their chain shuriken gauntlets. Kakashi and I knew they were coming though because they were hiding in the puddle we passed and there had been no rain for several days. This meant they lost the element of surprise which is one of the greatest advantages of an ambush. Always remember, should you lose the element of surprise it is advised to pull off the ambush and wait until you can regain that element.

"Anyway, as we can expect an attack the best formation is to place Tazuna in the center, as we have, with Hinata on point to watch using her Byakugan followed by myself, with Shino and Naruto on opposite sides of Tazuna and Kakashi bringing up the rear. This will make it more difficult for an attack to have a direct line of sight on Tazuna.

"Now, those guarding someone from a possible assassination are always at a disadvantage because those committing the assassination are always able to choose the time and place of the attack. But we have two important advantage. First is that an assassin gives up defense in both equipment and location for stealth. And second, once an assassin has attacked there is a short lag time between attacks where we can strike. In that time, as long as our reaction time is quick enough, we should be able to strike back and kill the assassin before they can raise an appropriate defense."

Anko continued her explination on assassinations with a few comments from Kakashi as the team continued on to the land of waves. It surprised Hinata and Naruto to learn that many of the skills in stealth and detection they had used and learned from Anko for their pranks were the same ones used in intelligence gathering and assassinations.

Tazuna had a boat prepared for them and thanks to the mist they managed to make it to the land of waves with little incident. The entire group looked in awe at the huge bridge that Tazuna was building. It was massive, easily large enough for entire caravans to cross without feeling constrained. As the group exited the boat Naruto and Hinata each threw a kunai knife into the bushes.

"I thought I heard something," Naruto said and Hinata nodded her agreement.

Kakashi approached the bushes and found a small white rabbit there. Anko approached with her snakes out in hopes of an easy snack for her precious friends but Kakashi handed the frightened animal to Hinata instead who soothed the poor creature. Anko grunted and put her snakes away.

_That rabbit's coat is white, a snow rabbit would have already grown their new summer coat and be brown by now… that rabbit has been kept indoors where there is little light, something isn't right,_ Kakashi thought to himself.

By the look on her face Anko was thinking the same thing and they nodded to one another. Kakashi took the front and Anko the rear with Shino, Naruto, Hinata and Tazuna between them. They moved forward in a slow pace in hopes they wouldn't run into too many problems but the same chill went down Kakashi spine as before and he knew it wouldn't be that easy for them.

Up in the tree's a large man with a huge sword stood watching the group pass. He recognized the two jonin and dismissed the kids in the group. He was confident in his ability to dispatch with Kakashi but the knowledge of a second leaf jonin had made him rethink his strategy. As the group moved forward the former shinobi of the mist released his chakra and a thick fog began to roll over the group.

"Stay on your toes, Shino, Hinata, Naruto protect Tazuna!" Kakashi ordered his team who surrounded Tazuna in a triangle formation with their backs to him while Anko turned her back taking the opposite guard from Kakashi. Suddenly several kunai came from multiple directions within the mist and Kakashi and Anko were forced to block them so they wouldn't reach the kids when two very small needles came through the rain of kunai knives as well.

The needles were almost invisible and completely silent, Kakashi just barely managed to block his but Anko was not as lucky as it struck her in the neck and she sunk to the ground. A deep laughter came out of the forest.

"ANKO!" Naruto yelled wanting to run to his fallen friend.

"Naruto! Stay where you are!" Kakashi ordered him, Naruto remained at his spot, he was fighting every instinct to run to help his friend but managed to control himself enough not to move.

"She's ok Naruto, I can see her heart, it's still beating, but she's been knocked completely unconscious," Hinata told him, "the needle must have struck a nerve point putting her into a deep sleep."

Naruto nodded and turned his focus back to guarding Tazuna. The laughter once again came out of the mist and Kakashi looked around again unable to see anything.

"Kakashi-sensei, he's on the branch 60 meters to your right and 20 meters above!" Hinata told her sensei.

"My, you would have to have a Hyuga brat with you wouldn't you Kakashi. I guess there's no point in the fog then is there," a dark voice drifted lazily from within the mist. And with that the mist began to disappate rapidly leaving them staring a giant of a man holding a massive sword staring down at them. He was now standing on top of the water of a lake in front of them.

"Momochi Zabuza… famous for his art of silent killing," Kakashi said, "he is beyond any of your skill, stay back and protect Tazuna, I will handle him."

Kakashi brought his hand to the forehead protector which was slanted over his left eye and brought it up revealing the powerful sharingan eye. He switched his stance from a more defensive posture to one prepared for battle.

"So, I receive the sharingan so soon Kakashi the mirror ninja, Kakashi of the Sharingan! I am so Honored HAHAHA! It seems I will have to kill you first and then the brats and the old man last." Zabuza said with a deep laugh as he launched himself beyond them and onto the water.

"NINJA ART: WATER CLONE TECHNIQUE!" Zabuza said as he made several symbols with his hands and three exact copies arose from the water.

The three copies spread out around them moving past Kakashi whose eyes remained fixed on the original Zabuza confident in his squads ability to handle a few clones. Naruto, Shino, and Hinata remained ready with themselves between Tazuna and the copies. The stand-off only lasted a few seconds before the three copies launched simultaneous attacks at the three genin.

Naruto blocked his attacker head on countering with a swift strike to the right eye but only found himself blocked. Hinata dodged her adversary to the right bringing a swift low roundhouse toward his feet which he dodged with apparent ease. Shino, who was more of a long range specialist managed to block the attack but was pushed back and slammed into the bright builder but remained on his feet.

"We have to change our strategy…" Shino said as he released his bugs to attack the water clone.

Naruto and Hinata nodded before falling back and placing themselves in front of Shino and Tazuna. The three copies took up a triangle formation and bore down on the three genin with blood-thirst apparent in their eyes. Naruto and Hinata two teamed the three just barely holding their own and never able to take the offensive. They fought together as they had during their training with Jiraiya. When Naruto attacked Hinata provided a defense, when Hinata struck Naruto was behind her to block the couter-attack, but even though they fought hard they were placed on the defensive. With every move they were forced to block and dodge more and more in the three on two fight, unable to take the offensive.

Shino began to release his bugs and came in from behind though and started to drain the chakra from the clones. The clones noticed the movement of the bugs and turned to block them but that allowed Naruto and Hinata to go on the offensive and caught between either facing the two attackers or the bugs the clones began to rotate, one would defend against the bugs while the other two fought Naruto and Hinata switching in a rotation.

With their third clone unable to help Naruto and Hinata began to take the offensive and slowly pushed the clones further and further from Shino and Tazuna. Finally Naruto saw an opening and with a strike of his Kunai one of the clones dissolved into water. The other remaining two were then unable to block the bugs and the two youngster and fell quickly as well.

While Naruto, Shino, and Hinata were facing his clones the real Zabuza had begun his fight with Kakashi. Opening the contest with a swing of his sword Kakashi flipped backward dodging the blade throwing several kunai which were blocked. He then struck again with his blade bringing in a massive overhanded strike that left a shockwave in the earth causing a huge gash to appear.

Kakashi dodged again and this time using enemies heavy strike to his favor closed the ground but Zabuza surprised him with his ability to move his sword faster than expected and block the kunai knife easily. With his larger blade Zabuza was easily the better of the two at the close range and he easily broke the kunai knife bringing his sword through Kakashi who turned into water.

Zabuza then felt a blade at his neck as Kakashi stood behind him.

"So you copied my water clone technique huh? Too bad you weren't watching closer HAHAHA" Zabuza said as he dissolved into water and Kakashi's eyes widened.

From behind Kakashi heard "NINJA ART: WATER PRISON JUTSU!" as the Zabuza in front of him dissolved into water surrounding Kakashi. Kakashi's eyes widened in realization of his mistake as he was frozen in the water and found himself powerless to help his students.

_Damn it! I fell right for his trick,_ Kakashi thought to himself.

Kakashi had watched his students finish off the clones but he knew those clones hadn't been nearly as strong as they could be but they hadn't had much trouble and while they seemed winded they weren't hurt. He took his chances and looked at them before making a decision.

"Hinata, Wake up Anko with your Juken! Naruto and Shino, protect Tazuna until Anko is awake! Do not attack Zabuza without Anko!" Kakashi yelled at them.

Hinata nodded and moved to Anko's side. She removed the needle from her throat and began examine her chakra system trying to find the right point to strike to wake the woman. Naruto and Shino moved into position between Tazuna and Zabuza.

Zabuza grinned at his new opponents and made a hand sign, "NINJA ART: WATER CLONE JUTSU" as another water clone rose from the water.

Zabuza chuckled at the two genin, "You'll find this clone much stronger than the ones you were just facing. I just needed you distracted while I captured the real threat. HAHAHA!"

Naruto and Shino could tell this clone was embued with a much greater amount of chakra. The clone moved toward the students and Naruto moved to intercept taking the clone on one on one. He charged the clone before dropping to a knee to avoid the clones initial thrust of his palm to where Naruto's head had been moments before and bringing his own knee up. The clone dodged with a flip backward. As the two fought Shino began to attempt to attack Zabuza using his bugs in hopes of draining the man's chakra while his clone was busy.

To Shino's surprise Zabuza used his free hand to slaughter every bug that the boy sent at him forcing him to call them back and work on a new strategy. Meanwhile Naruto was struggling but still holding his own as the Zabuza pushed him slowly back toward Shino and Tazuna. "NINJA ART: SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto yelled making a sign as a dozen Naruto clones appeared.

The clones proved to be too weak to do more than provide a nuisance for the Zabuza clone who simply dodged most of their attacks. There was a big difference in the chakra levels of the shadow and water clones not to mention battle experience. While the Zabuza clone focused on dodging Naruto's attacks the shadow clones merely took the blows causing them to poof out of existence.

"NINJA ART: SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto said again making several hand signs as dozens of more clones appeared around him. The Zabuza clone simply chuckled and swiftly moved through the much weaker shadow clones tearing them to pieces before finding the real one and placed as Naruto blocked his kunai knife with his own, bringing both arms to stop the blow the clone let his feet fall from beneath him and using his forward momentum launched a vicious kick at Naruto's stomach sending him back toward Shino.

Naruto cursed himself for not blocking the attack and panted heavily from the exertion of the clones and the attack. He then moved to take the offensive again when Shino's voice caught his attention.

"Naruto, I need his other arm tied down," Shino told him.

Naruto nodded and created more clones who he sent after Zabuza himself but the clone disengaged setting himself to attack the clones. Seeing his chance Naruto rushed toward the real Zabuza and began to throw Kunai knives and Shuriken at the man who blocked them all with a laugh.

Hinata had finally managed to locate the right nerve point to press to wake up Anko and as Anko's eyes fluttered she gradually came back to consciousness. Hinata shook the woman trying to get her to wake up faster but nothing was working so Hinata struck a non-vital but very painful nerve cluster causing the woman to scream in pain and sending a rush of adrenaline through her system.

"YEOUCH! Damn it Hinata what was that for!" Anko yelled at Hinata who pointed to the on going fight, "Oh… gotcha."

Anko then rose and she and Hinata moved to engage Zabuza who saw quickly things were not going in his favor anymore as his clone was quickly dispatched by Anko. Narrowing his eyes Zabuza knew he couldn't face all of them at once, not with this new support back and especially now that the brats had been found to be much more adept than expected. Anko and Hianta quickly helped Naruto dispatch with the Zabuza clone and seeing he had little choice Zabuza began to consider retreat as his only option.

Anko sent a dozen snakes at the man while Shino launched another attack with his bugs. Zabuza was unable to maintain his contact with the water sphere and was forced back onto the lake. Zabuza looked at his enemies and made several symbols with his hands, "NINJA ART: HIDDEN MIST JUTSU!" And the area once again filled with mist but now Hinata was watching for their enemy.

What Hinata couldn't see were the dozen large ice mirrors now appearing around the battlefield within the mist. Haku had seen that Zabuza would need help and come to the conclusion they would need to go to their secondary plan. He had created his ice mirrors and was ready to rain down senbon and kunai on their enemies when Zabuza signaled him to pull back.

"He's retreating to the North Kakashi-sensei!" Hinata called out and Kakashi attempted to persue only to find Zabuza had disappeared before he could break through the mist. After a quick search Kakashi returned to the group as the mist was now disappating and returning to a clear sunny day.

"No luck Kakashi?" Anko asked him.

"No, he escaped in that damn mist and you know he'll back and come better prepared. That was a bit too close, guess it was lucky you came along after all Anko. I suggest we continue on to your home quickly Tazuna." They all nodded and resumed their journey reaching Tazuna's home by evening.

**Hidden Ninja Hideout**

"You got beat by three brats! I thought you were the great _Demon of the Hidden Mist_ Zabuza! What is this? Are you going to be able to kill the bridge builder or aren't you?" Gato said to the man in front of him.

"There were complications, we knew about the other jonin but I was unaware of a Hyuga and an Aburame being with them. That changes things a bit since they both can counter my mist effectively. Make no mistake Gato, Tazuna _will_ be dead, some adjustments are simply needed."

Zabuza then leaned forward and extended his sword quickly until the tip lay right in front of Gato's nose, a small speck of blood seeping out from an almost imperciavable cut.

"I suggest you take a better tone and not question me or my methods in the future Gato, no amount of money will stop me from killing you if you piss me off," Zabuza informed his client.

Beads of sweat began to run down Gato's back and without a word he left the building.

"Haku, I think it is time to call in another grunt or two and make some changes to our plans, that second jonin is going to make things more difficult. We will separate their team and once I destroy Kakashi they others will be little trouble. Make the arrangements with our usual contacts and have them prepared. Until then we will watch for the right moment."

A beautiful young man nodded to Zabuza, he was far prettier than most girls his age and his long hair and feminen looks made him seem more like a woman than a man. He smiled at Zabuza and left to make arrangements as Zabuza sat in quiet to consider how best to change their strategy for the next encounter.


	21. Land of Waves Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: Well, I have completed the land of waves arc, as I said in chapter 20 I tried to make it different from what I have read out there. Again I would like some constructive criticism for the fight scenes especially since I would like to improve those. Now with this story's 21st chapter being published I have decided to publish two new stories I have been working on for your enjoyment and reviewing: From Leaf to Tree and Uzumaki Sunrise! I also wanted to take a moment to recommend some stories I had read recently which I thought were outstanding:

Hektols: **New Chance** - Outstanding Naru/Hina story I have reread once through already and plan to reread again. Exceptional work and the humor is very well done! Highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys Naruto fan fiction.

J R Ledoux: **Twice Shy** – Extremely inventive story with Naru/Hina having them return after years of training together. Very well done writing and character development and great fight scenes with a very inventive story.

Priates vs Ninjas: **Mommy and Daddy were Ninjas?** – Great future setting story with Naruto and Hinata after having run away from Konoha together. I am hoping to see it continued and completed but still great story to read. (His Bloodline story is also very good)

James D. Fawkes: **A Simple Change Series** – There are several stories by this author (A simple change: The Sharingan Volumes 1 and 2) which are excellent and I found a very good blending with other Manga's out there including .hack// and bleach.

**Chapter 21: Land of Waves Part 2**

**Naruto and his team**

The Konoha shinobi had arrived at Tazuna's village and been given residency with Tazuna's daughter Tsunami. No one had been seriously hurt by the attack and it was odd for Zabuza to leave the field so early in a fight and the five were currently gathered around a table, it was late that evening and they were tired but they knew this was important.

"Zabuza won't give up this easily, he will return. I think he merely used that attack as a test for us, to see what capabilities we have and we showed him just about everything. He now knows we have a Hyuga and an Aburame with us and about my Sharingan. We must assume he also knows about Anko's ability to summon snakes and has gotten a good view of Naruto's capabilities as well," Kakashi said we laid out his view of their previous fight," Kakashi stated as he leaned back in his chair staring into flames of the candles on the table before him.

"It makes sense, he ran a scouting mission, engaged and then disengaged once he had what he needed and knew continued battle wouldn't do him any good, a smart move on his part. He'll be much more dangerous the next time we see him," Anko stated agreeing with Kakashi's assesement.

"Then we'll just whoop his butt the next time he comes back, Right?" Naruto said placing his hands behind his head with a huge grin on his face as he leaned back against the chair he was sitting in.

The five ninja had gathered in the room where Kakashi, Naruto, and Shino would be sleeping and were currently sitting around a small table. The room was dark and only a few small candles brought a small amount of alumination. Their shadows danced on the wooden walls. They were concerned with how best to prepare for Zabuza's next attack and were discussing the strange actions of the Demon of the Mist and what to do about him.

"It would be best to send word to Konoha apprising them of the situation don't you think?" Hinata asked.

"Normally I would agree and I'd ask Anko to go back, that would make the most sense but I doubt the village would have anyone to spare and they might not even allow Anko to return. It was only luck that she happened to have pestered the Hokage into allowing her to come along with us." Anko gave Kakashi a glare at the statement.

"I'll see if I can ferret out some information on where Zabuza might be hiding or what he might try next while you see about some training for the genin here," Anko told Kakashi who nodded to her.

"I'll send a bug or two with you so they can bring back any important information quickly," Shino told her as she nodded.

"That makes sense, I'll train these three and you see if you can find anything out in town. If we have time I'd like to send one of them with you a day to learn about intelligence gathering first hand as well. But for now I think we all need some rest, you three have training in the morning after all." Kakashi yawned and the five konoha ninja retired for the evening.

The next day Anko departed without breakfast or speaking to anyone, she was gone even before any of the others woke up. Shino, Hinata, and Naruto were taken by Kakashi out to the beginnings of a forest behind the house where they were staying as he began explaining their exercise.

"I know you two know water-walking and tree climbing already, Shino have you been trained in either one yet?" Kakashi asked his student.

Shino shook his head in negative and Kakashi began to explain the procedure, "You will need to focus the chakra into the soles of your feet, they are the most difficult part of the body to focus chakra into. Then you use the chakra gathered there to stick to the tree and walk upward. This will increase your chakra reserves and chakra control."

Shino nodded as he caught the sun on his glasses again and began to work on the procedure. Naruto and Hinata gave him several helpful hints about how to clear his mind and focus the chakra into his feet and it wasn't long before the boy managed to easily walk to the top of the tree. Traditionally the Aburame clan had exceptional chakra control due to working with their bugs so it wasn't a surprise for Kakashi when Shino mastered the exercise quickly.

"Ok, now that you can manage that I wanted to train you all in something a bit different. Your teamwork is decent but it mostly ends up with Naruto and Hinata protecting you Shino, you need to become more proficient in melee combat, you can't rely on your bugs at all times. Naruto you always charge in and I have yet to see you use a ranged attack. Hinata your style is very defensive which is good for a juken user but you aren't fully exploiting your opponent's weakness in combat.

"Think of what we're doing as a three-way sparring fight. Your weakest points are the only one's your allowed to use. Shino will only be taijutsu, Naruto will only use ranged attacks, and Hinata can only attack and dodge, no parrying or blocking. This will give you a better sense of your weaknesses in combat and help you understand the roles of your comrades."

Kakashi called Go and the three found it very difficult to restrain themselve's from falling into their normal habbits. Naruto wanted to charge into the fight and it tore at him to wait and simply throw Kunai and Wind Scythes at Hinata and Shino. Whenever they came within striking range he had to find a way to escape and move back to a ranged attack without using any melee combat.

Shino wasn't used to working without the protection of his bugs and while he understood the basics of taijutsu found himself at a complete loss as to how to stop the attacks by Hinata and Naruto without his bugs. It was maddening to him to not use his bugs, they were literally part of him and it was like fighting with an arm tied behind his back

Finally Hinata was the one with the least trouble from the group. While only being able to dodge might have hurt most people she still managed to avoid most of her opponents attacks but found that a more aggressive stance caught her off guard and often had to restrain herself from blocking and parrying Shino's attacks.

By the end of the day they were all tired and sweating when Kakashi looked up from his book.

"Ok, I want to go down the row and you tell me what your thoughts are for improving your skils and what frustrated you the most," Kakashi told them as he pointed at Hinata first.

"I-I think I, um, leave a lot openings with my currentl style. I-I'm so busy t-trying to protect myself I don't take advantage o-of opportunities. I can see that I am missing a lot of chances to attack the opponent with my defensive style. I would think maybe a slow incorporation of more attacks would be wise," Hinata responded.

_As I expected, her style really isn't bad a tall, she simply needs to be able to take more advantage of her opponents when she fights them and strike more often, she's just too reserved_, Kakashi thought.

"I can barely use any ranged attacks other than Kunai and Shuriken and maybe a few Wind Scythe moves, man it sucks! I have to keep waiting for an opening or else they simply get blocked and there is no point to me even being there," Naruto complained at first as he thought about it, "but on the flip side it shows me that I need to work to not only create openings for myself but my comrades as well who specialize in ranged attacks, like Shino! I think I need to learn a few more jutsu's for ranged attacks as well which would help a lot."

_Good instinct Naruto, you can't just work to fight to create openings in attacks for yourself, if you're on a team you need to work to create openings for your partners as well_, Kakashi thought with a small smile behind his mask.

"I suck at melee fighting, I should just hang back and fight with my bugs but I see how much of a detriment I am to the team that way. If I can't defend myself against a melee assault then I constantly have to be protected and our team is chained to me. I need to work on improving my taijutsu and my ability to block, parry, and dodge attacks with and without the use of my swarm," Shino said as they finished up.

"Very good, you see the point of the exercise was to put you in the shoes of your comrades and make you think like them and see the frustration from their point of view. This will help you in the training we'll be doing from here on out to increase your teamwork and skills. And as you said we'll be working on certain areas more than others to strengthen your weaknesses," Kakashi explained to them as they packed up and began the walk back to the house.

Over the next few days team 8 focused much of its time to increase the weaknesses and mend the holes in its teamwork. The day was broken into four sections, morning was devoted entirely to teamwork training under Kakashi's guidance while the afternoon was separated into three two hour sections. One section was devoted entirely to sparring and increasing Shino's taijutsu ability, one focused on a two vs one between Hinata and her teammates to make her more aggressive if she wanted to win, and finally the last section was used to help Naruto gain a better sense of ranged attacks and increase his accuracy which also helped his taijutsu surprisingly.

When Tazuna resumed his construction of the bridge they were forced to alter their training some and they always had two members of their team, Kakashi and one genin, go with Tazuna to guard him and his crew while the other two trained together switching off guards every few hours and pushing their team training into the later afternoon. Whenever Anko said it was alright one of their team would also be sent with her to learn about intelligence gathering as well to round out their training.

**Flashback**

Naruto was following Anko into one of the seedier bars. The smell of old sake was in the air and the wood was half rotten and most of the chairs and tables looked to have probably been broken at one time or another. The bartender behind the counter was a large man and he was wiping a glass with a rag. He wore a dirty apron and didn't seem too interested in anything in particular. She had told Naruto to remain quiet and say nothing and to follow her lead. They sat at the bar and she ordered for them.

"Hey, Sake for me and something for the kid here," Anko told the bartender.

"You have coin to pay for that?" he asked in response.

"Sure I do, doesn't everybody right now?" she told him with a grin as she showed him her well laiden wallet.

"You must be another one of Gato's people then, they're the only ones with cash right now like that," the bartender told her.

"Guy pays top dollar, now how about those drinks huh?" she told him.

As they began drinking a few thugs arrived, they were what you would expect from dirt ridden cut-throats. They wore brown coats and boots with swords hanging from their sides. Their faces were unshaven and their hair probably hadn't been washed recently. They were dirty and smelled of old sake, sweat, blood, and puke. It was likely they hadn't bathed in weeks.

"So whats a sweet thing like you doin around these parts huh?" one of them asked.

"Oh, I heard there was work for those who liked to kill, know anything about it?" she asked him back.

Naruto remained silent through the exchange amazed by his friend's ability to smile and appear to actually be interested in the vermin before her. She had already learned that Gato was bringing in people and paying them a lot of money from the bartender without having to ask a single question.

"Well well well, we got ourselves another cutter for hire huh? You talked to the boss yet?" he asked as he leaned against the bar.

"Been waiting to get my answer, how about you big boy?" she said with a grin leading the man on.

"Of course, got invited up the boss's office and everything in the big house up the road ya know. It's the one that looks like it was made with big money, you can't miss it. I just went right in and got invited to the top! Gato knows a good cutter when he sees one haha. Sure is easy to please too, just wants as many knives as he can get haha," Anko grinned at the man before throwing a few coins on the bar and motioning to Naruto.

"Sounds like I need to pay a visit to the big house then to complete my business in town, lets go kid," she told him shaking his hand as a small snake nipped the man from her palm

The man had tried to pursue the snake-lady of Konoha but the poison from the small snake began to work immediately and he fell down paralyzed while his friend tried to figure out what was wrong with him.

"That's how it's done Naruto, let them come to you and don't ask too many questions, it makes people suspicious. Its best if you can inflate their ego's because people always let their tongues wag when they think they're impressing someone, especially guys when it comes to girls. Always act only halfway interested so they don't get any redflags. Most hired killers don't care about what other people say, at least the good ones don't. But most importantly let them come to you, if you go around knocking people out they're just going to assume you want information and intelligence gathering takes time and patience," Anko told him as she moved to another location to continue her instruction.

**End Flashback**

Anko was able to discover that a large number of gangs and hired blades were coming into the village at a varying pace. She also heard that several rogue shinobi were also moving around but she hadn't been able to discover how many or who they were. It seemed to make sense they were all under Gato's dime but there seemed to be two groups. They guessed that the rogue shinobi were being used by Zabuza in whatever plan he was working on while the bulk of the more regular blades and cutthroats were more directly under Gato.

It was during this time that Naruto met Tazuna's grandson, Inari and learned about his father. He had tried to approach the boy several times but the child was too angry to do anything more than yell at him and run away crying at the thought of his lost father. Of course, Naruto would never let anything go and continued to try and talk to him.

Tazuna had told them one night about Inari's father, "He had been a hero to their village and a father to a young Inari. When Gato moved in he was the only one to stand up to the man and do the right thing. He was killed for it, executed in front of the entire village as a testament to anyone who would stand up against Gato."

Every time someone tried to speak with Inari about it he simply ran from them and cried. Naruto finally got tired of the crying on night and decided to follow the boy.

It was late that night and Inari was sitting on a small dock near his house. He was wiping the tears from his eyes when Naruto made one final attempt to reach the boy. He sat down next to him and placed his hands behind his head looking at the moon.

"So, I heard about your dad kid. Sounds like he was a pretty awesome guy."

Inari nodded unsure what the boy was trying to get at and growled, "He was an idiot, and he's dead cause of it."

"He stood up for what he believed in to protect the people he loved, that doesn't sound like an idiot to me. Maybe you should honor his memory more than running away and crying the way you do right now. He probably wouldn't have cried or run away from problems. He was a good man, and he was proud to fight for you," Naruto said as he got up, "sometimes you have to face your problems, not run from them. Good-night," Naruto told Inari and left him at the dock to think about his words.

**Gato's Office**

__"So I take it our plans are ready then? I'm tired of waiting for Zabuza, I want them all dead before tomorrow's sunset and then once they're dead we'll send Zabuza to the grave as well. Send the word out to the mercenaries and have them cut loose." Gato told another man in a suit who was standing before him.

The man left with a bow to pass along his employers instructions. As fate would have it, that was also the day that Zabuza finally made his own move.

**Tazuna's Bridge**

Naruto and Hinata had requested a few hours to go into town, they hadn't had a chance to spend any time together other than training and meals and wanted a few hours together. Kakashi had decided it wouldn't hurt and he told them to go locate Anko in town while he and Shino followed Tazuna to the bridge and bring her to the bridge so they could discuss their next move.

Along the way Naruto and Hinata enjoyed themselves with small side trips to little shops where Hinata was trying to find something for Kurenai. While they were truly trying to find Anko they had decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if they made it into a small shopping trip and kind of mini-date after all.

Unfortunately for Kakashi, Shino, and Tazuna they were not greeted by the sight they had become used to at the bridge. Every day usually someone took Tazuna to the bridge and the workers were gathered and construction would continue until quitting time. But what greated the trio was not smiling faces of workers with a hope for the future of their country but drying blood and corpses.

Kakashi immediately righted his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan and two Kunai Knives appeared in his hands. Shino pulled Tazuna away from Kakashi and held his kunai at the ready.

"Shino, send a bug to Hinata and Naruto, get their attention and get them back here with Anko immediately," Kakashi ordered.

Shino nodded and several bugs took off to find his teammates. The two didn't have long to wait before a strong mist began to circulate around them. Shino spread his bugs out in an attempt to locate their adversary but found none. Then the laughter started, it was the same as before and both Kakashi and Shino knew it could only be one person, Zabuza.

While Kakashi and Shino held their ground in the mist Hinata and Naruto were threading their way through a crowd of people trying to locate Anko. They felt like the snake-lady had simply disappeared until they heard a loud crash and a man went flying out of a bar. They then felt an immense intent to kill coming from the bar and knew immediately someone had just tried to feel up their old friend.

"Now, how about we try this again…" Anko said as she exited the bar cracking her knuckles and a very large cobra slid out between her chest to turn wrap around the back of her neck before hissing at the new terrified man before them.

"Anko! We don't have time to play, Kakashi-sensei wanted us to get you and meet him at the bridge," Naruto called waving at her.

Anko let out a regretful sigh but before she left she sent her snake friend to the ground to chase the man all through the town as she laughed in amusment.

Anko watched the man run off into the distance as she chuckled and responded, "Ok, let's go see what Kakashi wants huh?"

What Kakashi wanted right then more than anything was a few more shinobi as he began to sense the presence of more than one person in the mist surrounding him. Shino's bugs had tried to locate Zabuza but so far had been unable too, whenever they thought they found someone it simply turned out to be charged water. The mist was full of pockets of chakra infused water and it was confusing Shino's bugs.

"Ok, Shino I want you to stay by Tazuna. Do not leave him at any time. I'll handle Zabuza and his friends," Kakashi told him.

Shino nodded as Kakashi began to move slowly in a guard position through the mist. He heard a hissing noise as he ducked the first attack of Zabuza's massive blade throwing several kunai at the spot where Zaubza had previously been.

"You know Kakashi, I figured out there are two weaknesses to that little Sharingan of yours," a ghostly voice came through the mist.

Kakashi attempted to home in on it, striking the source only to find a water clone in place of the real Zabuza.

"First, if you have you to be able to see the other person and look them in the eye, as long as my eyes are closed and you can't see me, your sharingan is utterly useless and second it must take up an immense amount of chakra to use. The longer you use that eye of yours the weaker you get. Your dead Kakashi and your little bug user too HAHAHAH!"

_Damn him, he was waiting to separate our team and in particular Hinata, he figured out that trick with the sharingan and knew without her I wouldn't be able to see in the mist as he can,_ Kakashi thought.

As Kakashi continued his back and forth with Zabuza in the mist Hinata, Naruto, and Anko moved toward the bridge. Shino's bugs had reached them and they increased their pace. As they got closer to the bridge they noticed the unusual fog surrounding the end of the bridge and with widening eyes began to move at a fast pace to the bridge. Unfortunately in their haste they didn't notice the demon brothers had returned for a second round as they came out of the water on either side at the start of the bridge.

Their claws going straight for Naruto and Anko who jumped away before being struck by the poisoned claws.

"Hinata, go ahead, Kakashi will need your eyes in that mist to help fight Zabuza! Naruto and I will handle these two idiots," Anko said.

Hinata nodded but before she left she cast a glance at Naruto who noticed and put a smile on for her and nodded, "Get going Hinata, we'll catch up in just a minute!"

The demon brothers laughed and renewed their assault. They had retracted their shuriken chains and again launched another round of chains at Naruto and Anko who easily dodged them. The brothers used the chains to pull themselves attempting to strike their opponents with their poisoned claws but again failed as Naruto and Anko jumped to the sides.

It was then the brothers turn to defend as Naruto and Anko attacked with Kunai Knives to keep the brothers on the ground, in particular managed to pin their chains to the ground by scoring several kunai into the links of the chains used by the brothers. With their chains caught on the ground the brother's maneuverability was almost completely destroyed.

Anko and Naruto simply had to move in close to the side that didn't hold a gauntlet and after a few quick strikes they tied the brothers up easily. The battle didn't last long, in fact, it wasn't expected too.

As Anko and Naruto finished the two brothers with a few quick attacks the brothers began to laugh at them, a mad gleam in their eyes. Naruto and Anko realized after they finished the brothers off the fight had never about them, it was about separating Hinata from the group.

Hinata had run ahead trying to make it to Kakashi and Shino when a masked figure had appeared before her. His long hair was tied in a bun above his head and the white mask he wore had a red gash through the front. He wore a white robe similar in style to a kimono and simply stood there looking at Hinata.

He held in his hands a dozen senbon and began throwing them at Hinata without even a word of warning. Hinata fell into a battle stance and quickly activated her Byakugan and dodged or blocked every strike by Haku. As their short spar continued Haku realized the demon brothers were down and he would have to finish this quickly.

"I'm sorry about this, but I have someone precious I must protect from your eyes," Haku told the girl and then made several symbols with his hands, "NINJA ART: DEMONIC ICE CRYSTAL MIRRORS!"

A dozen large ice mirriors suddenly appeared from air as water collected and froze before them. Hinata was caught in the center and Haku silently slid into one of the mirrors. She threw several Kunai at him but they merely glanced off the mirrors. Unsure what was happening she then saw Haku move from mirror to mirror at speeds even with her Byakugan active were difficult for her to keep up with.

Haku renewed his attack as he threw hundreds of senbon needles at the girl. Hinata was only just barely able to defend against the attack but with no way to go on the offensive she knew it was only a matter of time before one of the needles penetrated her defenses and she would be slowly worn down.

This was the situation when Naruto and Anko arrived, Hinata was stuck within the ice mirrors and Naruto and Anko were caught between helping Hinata and helping Kakashi who was still entangled in his battle with Zabuza. Before Anko and Naruto could react Haku continued his rain of senbon on a very stuck Hinata while Haku seemed almost care free in his attacks, as if they cost him no chakra or stamina at all!

Naruto stared at the girl who was his best friend and slowly becoming so much more to him, he saw the bleeding marks on her pale skin and her heavy breathing. Even with the training received from Jiraiya it would be difficult to hold up under such pressure and if she used her own water jutsu to fight back it merely froze on the mirrors. Naruto tried to join the fight only to be repelled by an almost magnetic force holding the ice mirrors up.

Naruto flew backward, his body stunned for a moment as pain shout through his sytem. Haku ignored his attempts and continued his attacks on Hinata. Naruto tried again but only receiving the same results. He watched as Hinata's defense was broken through by several needles which struck into her shoulders and back.

"HINATA!" Naruto yelled to his friend.

Haku remained silent as he continued attacking the girl, even with her kekkei genkai she knew she was not invincible.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you attacking me?" Hinata asked as she tried to catch her breath.

Haku stopped for a moment and looked at her, "Because I am a tool of master Zabuza, he saved me and gave me my life, so I will gladly give my life in his service. He has said you must be delayed or killed and so it must be."

Hinata was tiring and she knew it, prolonged defensive battles were her strongest area and with her Byakugan she had the tightest possible defense to Haku's attacks. But even the best defense can't be maintained forever against a constant assault and every time she was hit, every slightest nick took its toll on her making it harder to move her body to bend and dodge or block or parry. She knew eventually she would run out of Chakra and she still had no way to take the offensive! She had never wished more sorely that she had been taught her father's ultimate defense than at that moment. She needed help and she knew it.

Hiashi had been very careful to keep the secret of his ultimate defense to him alone not trusting that Hinata would be the heir he thought he needed. And so while Hinata had seen the defense she was unable to copy it without knowing how to perform the maneuver. It was something she knew she would have to work on if she survived this fight.

Naruto looked around trying to think of something, Anko was at a loss torn between helping Hinata and moving on to assist Kakashi. Finally she yelled to Naruto to help Hinata moved on into the mist to face the demon lurking within hoping that if she could help Kakashi finish off Zabuza quickly enough they could return and aid Hinata.

Naruto watched as a Hinata fended off another massive attack of senbon from the masked attacker. He was trying to think of a way to break Hinata out of the ice, he began using every jutsu he could think of but nothing affected the ice mirrors with any positive results. Water jutsu simply froze over, sometimes even increasing the mirrors size, the wind jutsu and kunai knives bounced off the ice, and when he tried to strike the mirrors directly he was sent backward by some strange energy holding the mirrors together.

Naruto watched as his best friend again needed his help, she was possibly the most precious person in the world to Naruto and he couldn't find a way inside to help her! The only time that Naruto felt this before was when Hinata had sent Gabanta those years ago to get him to come home immediately after her father hit her and almost sealed her with the caged bird seal.

And as that day the frustration mounted as he tried again and again to help her. But this was worse, he saw the senbon breaking through her defense, he saw the needles sticking out of her shoulders, her back, her legs. The blood dripping down onto the bridge, her blood, Naruto threw himself again at the mirrors and again was sent flying backward but this time he caught himself, flipping mid-air to land on his feet.

He watched as another senbon attack reached Hinata, several making it through to her again. Hinata fell to her knee as several struck nerve clusters in her body and she cried out in pain. He began to feel warmth coming from his stomach, it was power in its rawest form. And he wanted it, he needed it, he wouldn't allow Hinata to be hurt any further while he watched and did nothing! His eyes began to glow and the marks on his cheeks became more pronounced. He nails elongated and began claws and teeth lengthened to take on the shape of fangs.

"**AAAWWWWWRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!**" Naruto roared as he felt the raw power coursing through his body and his veins. And without so much as a preamble he launched himself at the mirrors shattering one as he came to rest beside Hinata who had risen to a single knee as a senbon had struck the back of the other leg under the other knee keeping her from using it.

"N-nar-uto?" Hinata asked, her voice frightened by the sight of him.

Kakashi sensed the rise in demonic chakra and within a moment his eyes widened and a single thought passed through his mind, _Naruto!_

He had been briefed on this possible scenario, the chance the seal might break or be weakened. He could feel the aura of power coming from the demonic presence within the boy and the killing intent being released. He knew he must finish his fight with Zabuza quickly if he was to ensure the seal did not break entirely.

Anko arrived near Kakashi at that moment and with a nod she slunk into the mist releasing her snakes. Once they were in position her snakes began to make hissing noises in the mist. This noise made it almost impossible for Zabuza to locate Kakashi by sound and with his eyes already closed he had lost the two most important senses he needed to find and kill the man.

The snakes also informed Zabuza that he was dealing with the second jonin and that meant the demon brothers and Haku had failed to withhold the other members of the leaf team. Then he heard the sound of Kunai Knives coming toward him. He blocked them moving to his left to dodge a second batch of knives. Four shuriken came then from his front right, he moved backward.

"It's over Zabuza, you've lost," Kakashi told him.

Zabuza looked around him opening his eyes and realized he was caught between the two leaf jonin and both were pioused to attack. It didn't matter who struck him, it was over. But Zabuza didn't care, he wasn't going to be killed so easily and he hefted his blade and turned to face Kakashi, turning his back to Anko.

"Then let us end it," Zabuza said and charged Kakashi bringing his sword down where the jonin had been only to feel the pain as a dozen kunai struck his back from Anko.

"Give up Zabuza, you can't win this fight and you know Gato was going to double cross you anyway, so why keep fighting?" Anko asked him.

Zabuza didn't respond but simply continued his assault on Kakashi who dodged easily, the fight was over and they all knew it. Anko threw several Kunai which lodged deeply into Zabuza's back and legs. Zabuza was injured now, the kunai had struck multiple vital spots and nerve clusters making it impossible for him to win at this point.

"Damn it Zabuza, Why are you still fighting us? I found out Gato plans to kill you off today if he can, why are you still holding yourself to a contract that has been broken?" Anko yelled at him.

Again Zabuza tried to attack Kakashi only to feel blood loss and pain as more Kunai homed in on his vital areas.

_I've lived my life, I've made my mistakes, in a way its poetic justice I die, but maybe I can give Haku something,_ Zabuza thought to himself.

Naruto wasn't paying attention to Hinata, he was glaring at the masked boy who stared intently at him from within one of his demonic mirrors. And then the two were off, Naruto attacked the mirror he had been in and shattered it with a single strike from his chakra covered claws. Haku fled to another one and another but Naruto shattered each, narrowly missing the boy.

Haku tried to strike back with his senbon but they merely were knocked aside by the aura of red chakra surrounding Naruto. Haku's eyes widened behind the mask as he realized the power he was facing and knew he couldn't match it, he could only run.

No one can run forever though and finally as Haku moved inbetween two mirrors Naruto caught him and dragged his body down to the ground with him. His claws tore the mask from Haku's face and blood appeared on his forehead from Naruto's claws. Naruto caught the boy with a kick to the stomach and a claw to the gut following the cut, opening several wide cuts to the boys abdominal leaving blood flowing freely.

Haku rose again, his breath coming in shaky bursts from his body. He rose to a knee and glared at the boy before him as he realized the child was already in front of him and brought his fist in contact with his face sending Haku flying several yards to slam into a mass of building materials.

Haku lay there stunned as Naruto began to walk forward, his red eyes intent on the kill, his entire body hungering to finish the life in front of him and extinguish it forever.

Then a voice reached his ears, it was soft at first but grew louder, "Naruto, please, don't do it! Not like this!" Hinata called to him, her eyes were filled with tears. "Please, come back to me Naruto."

Naruto turned and looked back at her, the needles protruding from her body from so many places, and she was begging him to come back to her. Hey pale eyes were crying, crying for him and his eyes widened as he looked at the girl. His heart softened and he smiled as the energy flowing through him returned to normal and his body returned to normal. He looked again at Haku, laying there panting heavily and his blood seeping from the wounds on his forehead and stomach. And with a turn Naruto ignored him and ran to Hinata.

He wrapped his arms around her and slowly began to remove the senbon from her body, he saw the needles had pierced several locations near important nerve clusters and organs. She had only managed to continue fighting thanks to her Kekkei Genkai and her control over her chakra system allowing her to ignore the pain and force chakra through her system.

Carefully Naruto extracted the senbon all the while holding Hinata as close to him as he could. As he removed the final needle he helped her stand and she nuzzled her head into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"I'll always come back to you Hinata, always," Naruto told her as he held her, "I'll always be there for you Hinata and no one will ever hurt you as long as I am there."

With Hinata leaning on him they made their way to where Haku's form was, he looked at them and a soft smile formed on his lips, "You have someone precious to you. That is why you are truly strong Naruto. If you have someone truly precious to you that you must protect, you will become truly strong and no one can stop you."

Naruto looked at Hinata and he felt his heart in his throat, "Yes, I do," hugging Hinata closer to him, "but why are you attacking us? We don't even know who you are."

Haku smiled at the boy before him, "My name is Haku, I am a tool of Momochi Zabuza, and I will do anything for him. He saved me and protected me, now I live to give my life for his purpose."

Zabuza breathed deeply, blood coming from the many wounds in his body. He was simply standing there looking at them without a word. He had tried water clones only to have them destroyed. He knew he couldn't attack either one without the other attacking his backside. He was running out of options and out of time.

"Zabuza, its over, give up and surrender. We know Gato hired you to kill Tazuna and we also know that Gato plans on betraying you and attempting to kill you. Why keep this up, surrender and we'll take you to Konoha…"

Before Kakashi could finish Zabuza interrupted him, "And what? Spend my days in a prison cell? Please as if Konoha will do anything other than lock me up hahaha. I don't think so Kakashi. Gato may plan to double cross me but it doesn't matter, at this point I don't care, I'll kill him before I die for that too."

He swung his sword again at Kakashi who dodged easily sighing he fell back further. Kakashi made several seals but stopped before he completed his jutsu.

"Anko, I want you to hang back, its time we finished this and moved on. NINJA ART: CHIDORI!"

Electrical energy began to flow through Kakashi and into the palm of his hand. The light around them dimmed as the static energy in the air began to flow into Kakashi's hand. A small ball appeared and came to life, lightning striking the ground and air around him as the electrical energy in his palm grew into a large sphere.

As Naruto and Hinata watched Haku smiled again, "It seems I have one last use for master Zabuza, good bye."

As Kakashi charged Zabuza Haku disappeared from before Naruto and Hinata and appeared as a shield before his master. Zabuza's eyes widened as he saw Haku before him. Emotion ran through Zabuza, hate, anguish, regret, and a dozen other feelings collided within him. And then everyone in stared in shock at the scene before them.

Kakashi stood with his hand through the Zabuza's chest, it was just below his heart was, where Haku's heart would have been. His hand was deep inside Zabuza's chest, blood spurting from the wound. In one moment Zabuza made a choice, he knew he could never go to Konoha, he knew he could never make a change in his life, but he also knew Haku could and he had decided that it was a chance that he would give his son.

With ragged gasps Zabuza looked into Kakashi's eyes, "Haku, take… him… to Konoha…" he coughed as blood filled his lungs from the injury, "he has done… nothing… wrong," again he coughed, blood covering Kakashi's arm and coming from his lips.

Kakashi laid Zabuza back slowly, Haku rushed to his side but it was clear there was nothing he could do. Zabuza would die from blood loss alone in minutes.

"Master Zabuza, why? Why did you save me sir? I-I d-don't understand?" Haku told his master with tears in his eyes as he tried to process that Zabuza had given his life for him.

"Haku, your mother… she and I… we loved each other. It's why I was near when you were attacked… that day," Zabuza coughed again as he tried to finish his last words to the boy before him, "You… are my… son. Please, go and… be free of… my curse. Start a new… life in… Konoha. This… is… my… gift to… you."

With his final words Zabuza's head fell back as the life left his eyes and Haku cried, finally knowing the truth of his father. In one sacrifice Zabuza had changed everything, everyone was in shock at what they had seen. No one had expected Zabuza, the demon of the mist, to willingly sacrifice himself like that.

As the mist faded from the bridge a lone clapping sound could be heard.

"Well, well, well, apparently Zabuza got himself killed huh? Guess I don't have to kill him after all." An overweight man in an expensive business suit said as the mist cleared and the shinobi could see nearly a hundred cutthroats and rogues behind him.

"Gato, you pig!" Tazuna yelled at the man he recognized instantly.

"Ahhhh Tazuna, I thought you and your bodyguards might be able to finish off Zabuza. It's a good thing I brought a bit of… insurance."

As Gato finished the statement his cutthroats laughed and brought two recognizable figures forward, Inari and Tsunami were both bound and gagged. They were both crying and terrified.

"Oh don't worry, I made sure they weren't harmed, yet. If you and your shinobi body guards do as I say they won't have to be. I so don't want to make a mess here so let's make this simply. Tazuna, I want you to commit suicide right here and now, tie yourself to those cement blocks and drop them into the water. Once your dead I'll release your daughter and grandson, no harm no foul. If you or your shinobi guards decide to try and be hero's, then the boy dies and your daughter goes to my men for some fun before her throat gets slit. Sound good?" He laughed at him as if he had thought of everything.

"You know he won't release them if you do what he says…" Kakashi told Tazuna as he, Anko, and Shino placed themselves between Tazuna and Gato and his men.

"I know, but what choice do I have?" Tazuna asked.

"Naruto and Hinata are out there, just stall, I am sure they'll come up with something," Anko told him.

_How come Naruto and Hinata get to be the hero's, doesn't anyone remember I'm here?_ Shino thought to himself as he began to feel depressed.

A cold wind crossed the bridge as the bird circled in the afternoon, the crows brought by the smell of the decaying bodies. Then suddenly several dropped out of the sky and landed near Gato and his men. Gato eyed them and dismissed them keeping his eyes on the shinobi and bridge builder.

Kakashi smiled, "That same trick huh Naruto?"

As Kakashi finished his statement all the birds who had landed suddenly exploded as the paper smoke bombs attached to them were ignited and Naruto and Hinata came through the mist to land next to their team mates with Inari and Tsunami in hand.

Naruto grinned at them, "May not work against Kakashi-sensei but sure worked against those idiots well enough. Let's finish these guys off!"

The team walked forward as the smoke cloud revealed to Gato and his men that their hostages were gone and he began to take a step back from the approaching shinobi.

"G-GET THEM! I'LL TRIPLE WHAT I'M PAYING YOU TO KILL THEM!" Gato yelled as his acquired group of rogues and cutthroats grinned and surged forward believing their superior numbers would aid them.

The fight didn't last long as Anko stepped forward from the group and grinned viciously, "NINJA ART: SUMMONING JUTSU!" and suddenly a giant viper at least 40 feet in length sat before the oncoming mercenaries and hissed at them.

Mercenaries don't mind facing shinobi, they're normal people, but the sight of a 40 foot viper makes even them stop and reconsider their choice in employers. In particular, when the same 40 foot snake reaches over the mercenaries and swallows said employer whole. And as a tide turning when the first few were swallowed whole by the snake the others decided they didn't like Gato as much as they had thought.

Haku was still kneeling by Zabuza's body as Kakashi walked over to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"So, you were his son? You never knew?" he asked.

"When I was little I discovered I could manipulate snow, my mother hit me and told me never to do it again but my father, or the person I thought was my father, he found out anyway and he killed her. He said she had been unfaithful and had consorted with a demon. Then he turned to kill me, he had brought friends and in fright I unleashed my power and it killed them.

"I ran away, but I didn't know where to go, and then master Zabuza was there. I wasn't far from my home when he found me. I never asked him why he was so close to my home at the time. He took me in, he cared for me, he taught me. I-I never knew he even knew my mother."

Haku's revelation was followed by several tears that began to fall down his eyes. He saw the tears falling and looked confused by them, as if he wasn't sure where they came from or why.

"We offered to bring him to Konoha when he knew he couldn't win the fight against us. He refused, but apparently he wanted you to come with us. It's your choice," Kakashi offered the boy.

"I-I will, thank you," Haku said as he struggled to raise Zabuza's body from the bridge. Then Naruto was there helping him.

"I know what it's like not having a dad, you should give him a proper buriel," Naruto said and helped the boy carry the body away before leaving him to bury his father alone.

Naruto returned to Hinata's side and she leaned on him as they walked back to the bridge builder's home. Hinata would be confined to bed rest for several days as the serverest casualty due to the damage to her nerve clusters and internal organs from the senbon but soon enough the group waved good-bye to Tazuna and the land of waves.

With Gato gone the bridge builder was now safe and they knew he would be able to finish his bridge in peace and rebuild his home.

"Thank you for coming with us, thank you for being there for us, this bridge is in your memory. You all fought for us and never have had so much to thank you for," Tazuna told them as he placed his hand on Inari's shoulder.

Inari had tried to protect his mother from the mercenaries who had come for him and many had seen Naruto's desperate attempt to protect Hinata. It had caught in the hearts of the villagers and word of the tale had quickly traveled through the village and Naruto and Hinata were made into overnight celebrities.

As the leaf shinobi walked away Tazuna watched them before turning back to the bridge saying to Inari, "I think we'll call it, The Great Naru-Hina Bridge!"


	22. Return Home and Surprises

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in this fan fiction. I do not make money from this fan fiction.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in getting an update out. I'm gathering my things together to drive to my first Anime Convention next week! If you have any advice to a newbie Anime Conventionist please feel free to send them to me. I want to thank everyone for their reviews and support so far! I hope you all enjoy this chapter since it has a lot of nice fluff in it before we go into the chunin exams. Oh and I'd also like to mention that this story has officially hit 100,000 words! Woot!

**Chapter 22: Return Home and Surprises **

As the group of shinobi made their way back to Konoha they found themselves in high spirits. They had completed their mission, sustained no deaths, and brought hope, peace and stability to a neighboring land. All in all it had been a successful mission.

It took merely three days to return to Konoha and along the way Anko and Shino had several long conversations about his position in their squad and what he could do to improve. It surprised several people that Anko didn't scare the boy to death (in truth he was terrified of her but decided she had an amazing insight into strategy so it was worth listening to her even if he was terrified) but she seemed to understand his plight and enjoyed talking strategy to him. Shino felt that he was somewhat behind Hinata and Naruto and was always being more hindrance than help to his teammates.

Anko saw the boy's problem was more in his head than on the battlefield, much as Hinata's confidence had been a major issue for her. She tried to stress that he brought a very unique set of skills to the group which neither Naruto nor Hinata had.

"Hmmmm, honestly Shino I think you need to reconsider your feelings on the subject. Against an enemy like Zabuza of course you're going to be weak. Zabuza was a front melee fighter who specialized in the art of silent killing and you are more of a strategist and ranged specialist. Against an opponent like that you're going to be weak no matter what you do in a taijutsu fight simply because your style will be weak in a front line confrontation with that kind of fighter, that doesn't mean you can't win but you just have to change the way the fight is going rather than play your opponents game.

"You need to make sure you play to your strengths, sure you can get better at taijutsu but honestly it would be best for your team for you to stand back and use your strategic mind and bugs to gather intelligence during the fight and provide aid to your comrades through those areas. Think of yourself as a battlefield commander rather than a front line fighter, your bugs can gather information and you can process that information faster than either Naruto or Hinata can so you can provide an invaluable position on the team, not to mention you are a ranged specialist which neither Naruto or Hinata are," Anko finished telling the boy.

Anko continued her explanation of what she considered to be Shino's abilities and how he could use them for rest of the trip. Kakashi, although always reading his book, listened carefully to what the women had to say and began making plans to incorporate it into Shino's training.

_As much as I hate to admit it she has a point, Shino's ability to strategize and gather information far exceeds the other two in combat. Hinata can see just about anything but her eyes don't give the same information as his bugs do. Those bugs of his make him extremely versatile, I'll have to add some of this into their team training,_ Kakashi thought as he listened to their conversations.

Much of what Anko said had a strong effect on the boy making him rethink what he could bring to their team and he spent much of their travel time reflecting on their conversations and absorbing the new information.

Hinata spent much her time talking to Naruto and Haku. Haku seemed almost like another person while traveling with them. He didn't sleep much and he seemed to be lost in his own memories and rarely spoke if not spoken to first. The recent revelations had hit him hard. To learn your father was with you all along and then watch him die in front of you to protect you wasn't an easy thing for the mind to accept and Kakashi and Anko both wondered if the boy would ever recover from it.

They learned that Haku came from a small farming village where he had grown up with his mother and the man, who up until recently, he thought was his father. He was born during the purges in the water country, a time when after the great Shinobi Wars where the civilian population blamed the shinobi villages for the wars and a great mistrust was felt for those with bloodline traits in particular. They saw such traits such as the Sharingan and Byakugan as evil and the root of their suffering. Many bloodlines had been wiped out by the people of the countries who would kill entire families of those having the bloodlines without remorse, believing them to be the source of their troubles.

When he was a small child his bloodline had activated and he had held a small globe of snow in his hands. He had shown his mother and his mother had told him never to use his power again, but it was too late, his father had found out. The farmer had responded as most people at the time and gathered his friend and attacked his mother one night killing her. They had then turned to kill Haku but his power wasn't entirely under his control and he had lashed out causing massive ice spikes to destroy their home and kill everyone inside.

After that Haku had run away and almost ran head first into Zabuza who had been traveling nearby. Haku had never wondered why the mist ninja was nearby but Zabuza had seen the boy and taken him in. He had never questioned Zabuza's actions but the revulation that he was his father made things much clearer. He had fed him and cared for him and trained him over the years, in short he had been both a sensei and a father figure for Haku and it was both sad and happy for Haku to have Zabuza reveal he was the boy's father.

Naruto seemed a bit detached from his friends and while he spoke with Haku and Hinata, his mind seemed to be on other things. In particular Naruto was trying to figure out where the power had come from on the bridge and what had happened.

_What was that power? It felt so warm inside me and it was like some kind of damn burst inside me. I don't understand what happened or why but I need to talk to Sagie about it when we get back,_ Naruto thought to himself.

Secretly inside Naruto worried that what he had felt was the Nine-tailed fox coming out of the cage he carried inside of him. He was worried he was a danger to his friends and precious people and he wanted very much to speak with Jiraiya about this.

The days passed as the team returned to village they found it hadn't changed much since as they had left it, quietly resting inside the protection of the forest surrounding it. What did surprise everyone was the sight of a young Iruka standing at the gate as they entered the village.

He grinned sheepishly as he walked up to Anko and handed her a flower and a box of Dango. It was as if someone had just given Anko the entire world by the way she reacted to the teacher's presence and gifts. She squeeled in delight and hugged him tightly to her. Anko had never had a guy come to meet her when she returned from a mission and no one had ever brought her a flower before in her life.

Words simply failed as she hugged Iruka and he blushed deeply at the display of affection before everyone as Anko acted more like a girl than they had ever seen before. Anko must have realized the scene she was making because she turned around, her arm still wrapped around Iruka and glared at them.

"What are you all looking at? Haven't you ever seen a girl hug her boyfriend before?" She asked them in a very matter of fact tone.

The guards at the gate sat there shocked as their jaws hit the floor, _Iruka is dating ANKO!_ Was all that passed through their minds at the same time.

Iruka grinned sheepishly, "Well, I mean, we never made it official… but I wanted to be here when you got back you know and I missed you…" Iruka never got to finish as Anko brought his lips to hers in a fiery kiss which promised a lot more and made everyone go red and Hinata faint at the sight while thoughts of her doing that to Naruto danced through her head.

Once Anko was finished shocking everyone at the gate and making Iruka turn crimson he informed them that Anko, Kakashi, and Haku were wanted at the Hokage's office immediately upon the return to the village. Since he was assigned to the Hokage's staff during the summer Iruka had known when the group was close by and had the bright idea to go meet them and deliver the message himself.

That day word went out throughout the village that Iruka was now Anko's property and his standing among the male population shot up and he was even toasted for his ability to land such a woman by the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio at their bar for his bravery.

Naruto and Hinata smiled and waved good bye to Shino at the gate as they headed toward Kurenai's house. Anko told them she would meet up with them later while she, Iruka and Kakashi took Haku to the Hokage.

"I am sure Kurenai's going to want to hear everything about what happened, I'll meet up with you guys tonight for dinner once we take Haku to see Lord Hokage," Anko told them.

Iruka had mentioned that Kurenai planned a small dinner to celebrate their finishing a C-Rank mission and had invited their entire team. Kakashi had tried to get out of it saying he was busy but Anko would have none of it.

"Kakashi, you can either come under your own power, and be at least close to on-time, or I will send my 40 foot viper friend Buttons after you and he'll drag you there got it?" Anko told him in the most vicious voice possible.

Kakashi stared at the woman before finally agreeing as he remembered Gato being swallowed by the giant snake and wondered who had dared name the snake Buttons.

Shino, who had also been invited for dinner, had to decline since he was supposed to meet his clan for dinner and a debriefing of his latest mission. Shino was glad to be included but knew it was important to meet with his clan. Privately Shino also wanted to discuss some of the things Anko had mentioned with his father, the clan leader, that evening and he knew that it would be a relatively long discussion.

Kakashi, Anko and Haku made their way through the streets of Konoha. Haku brightened a bit as he watched the passing villagers with interest as it was the first time visiting a major shinobi village. He and Zabuza had always avoided these places as being too high risk. Kakashi noticed the interest in the village and secretly hoped the boy would make some lasting attachments since his bloodline could be a strong addition to the village's many clans.

Kakashi, Anko, and Haku had recently arrived at the door to the Hokage's office. His secretary saw them in immediately and they began their debriefing. Kakashi explained everything about the mission including Gato, Zabuza, and Haku.

"After Zabuza died and Haku agreed to return to the village with us we stayed to make sure the bridge was completed and returned back to Konoha," Kakashi said finishing his report.

The third hokage looked at Haku, his eyes taking in the young boy and his ragged clothing and darkened eyes. He was thin and obviously hadn't been sleeping well. He looked broken and very much alone and unsure of himself or what would happen to him.

With a puff of smoke from his pipe the Hokage placed his hands on the desk before him interweaving his fingers, "Well, I don't see a problem with accepting Momochi Haku into the village but you will have to spend time at the academy and take the usual genin exam before we can assign you to a squad and will be placed on probation of one year."

Haku nodded, "Thank you Lord Hokage, I appreciate your generosity," his voice lacked much emotion in it as he spoke and he bowed to the older man before him.

_Hopefully sometime around kids his own age in the academy will help the boy a bit, true he probably knows more than most chunin at this point and could graduate quickly but it would help him to be around people for a short time before joining a squad,_ Hiruzen thought to himself.

With a nod to the three before him Kakashi and Anko were dismissed and an ANBU came from the shadows to escort Haku to his new residence, a small apartment on the east side of the town. Anko winked at her newly proclaimed boyfriend and reminded him to meet at Kurenai's for dinner before disappearing out the window.

"Iruka, could you please give me a moment alone with Lord Hokage?" asked Kakashi who had remained behind.

Iruka nodded and Kakashi waied until he was alone with the Hokage as Iruka left to get some more paperwork from another office. The hokage raised an eyebrow at Kakashi's presence.

"There is something else I did not include in the official report sir, the seal on Naruto weakened slightly during our engagement with Haku and Zabuza. I felt the demon's power coming from within him but when the fight was over it seems Hinata was able to bring the boy back to himself. I believe it was her injuries and the need to protect her that drove Naruto to reach for the demons power, lord Jiraiya mentioned a similar occurrence happening once before."

The Hokage nodded at the news, "It would be best if that news wasn't spread through the village and you were right not to include in the official report. I'll have Jiraiya check the seal when he returns from his mission. We always believed that emotion might be the key to unleashing the seal. I can only hope that Naruto can learn to control the power inside him. Thank you telling me Kakashi."

With a nod of his head Kakashi vanished out the window himself as Iruka returned to the office with another stack of paperwork for the Hokage who groaned at the sight. As Iruka resumed his seat the Hokage looked at him.

"So you are officially dating Anko now Iruka?" The hokage asked suddenly.

Iruka nervously fidgeted in his seat before responding, "Uh… yes sir, I am."

"Brave man…" the hokage murmured before speaking louder for the younger man to hear, "I have a question then you might be able to answer me," the hokage asked in a rather serious tone.

"I will do my best sir," Iruka responded as he began to worry what the old man might ask.

"Does that woman ever use a door?"

"HUH? Well, uh, now that you mention it, I've never seen her use anything but a window unless I pick her up at her apartment for a date or she's being escorted somewhere but even then I think she would prefer the window sometimes… Is there a reason you asked sir?" Iruka responded as curiosity for the odd question rose in the young man.

"I was simply curious because she almost never uses my door and neither does Kakashi, in fact it seems I should simply put a door in place of my window some days," The hokage responded with a sigh as he looked at the window wondering if he could put some kind of door there.

While Haku was being shown his new home Hinata and Naruto arrived at Hinata and Kurenai's house. They found Kurenai wasn't there but she had left a note for Hinata,

_Hinata, I am out on a mission with my team and will return later this afternoon, I hope your mission went well! I can't wait to hear all about and I have a surprise you tonight! _

_See you soon!_

_ Kurenai_

"I bet their chasing that damned cat," Naruto said with a grin.

"Tora's not so bad," Hinata said defending the poor feline, "but you're probably right, she gets away from her owner almost every day it seems."

"So what would you like to do?" Naruto asked as he placed his hands behind his head and smiled at her.

"I don't know, I suppose we should get unpacked from the mission and you definitely need a shower!" Hinata told Naruto while pinching her nose for added emphasis. They were both tired and hungry from the road for something other than travel rations and neither had had a chance to bathe in the past few days.

Naruto laughed and nodded his agreement to the suggestion. Grabbing his bag Naruto headed for the front door but stopped as he opened it. He had been thinking about something for the past few days and finally decided on it.

"Hey Hinata, I was thinking, would you like to go out tomorrow evening? For dinner I mean, I had an idea, I mean, I thought a picnic would be nice ya know?" Naruto said with a blush creeping into his cheeks as he asked.

"That w-would be g-great Naruto! And you'll be coming to dinner tonight here right? I want you to hear Kurenai's surprise too!" She said with a big smile and blushing furiously at the thought of a picnic just for the two of them.

"You bet Hinata! See you in a few hours!" Naruto said and after a quick hug and kiss on the cheek to Hinata, who wished it had lasted far longer, even if Naruto did smell. Naruto had a big smile on his face as he left the house and headed to his apartment to get ready for dinner.

Naruto arrived at his apartment to find it just as he left it. He let out a small sigh as he let himself into his home and tossed his bag to the ground. He smiled at the kitchen and living room, the bookshelves with the scrolls and pictures of him and his family and friends on it. He always enjoyed the feeling of coming back here because it always felt like he was coming home. He walked to his room and pet the worn, stuffed frog that was sitting on his bed. It had been years since Jiraiya had given him the toy but he loved it still just as much as he had the day his guardian had given it to him.

His apartment had changed slightly over the years with an extra bookshelf and a larger weapons rack. It had taken the combined might of Hinata, Anko, and Kurenai to convince him that Ramen and Weapons should not be put in the same place together so he had settled for a weapons rack and a ramen rack side by side. He'd never admit it but it did make things much easier and more organized.

He had a few plants in his apartment, some he had bought but most were gifts from Hinata from her own garden and he took very good care of them since he knew they were given his best friend. Naruto decided to give the plants some water since they looked slightly parched, when he had left Kurenai had offered to water the plants for him but he knew she probably hadn't come by yet today since she was out on a mission.

As Naruto went around and water the plants his thoughts turned to Hinata and how he felt about the girl. She made him happier than anyone in the world and when he hugged her his stomach would get butterflies in it and she was always there for him. There was always a peace about her that made him feel like everything in the world was perfect. She was kind and caring and honest and just thinking about her made him happier. He smiled as he thought about Hinata and was reminded that he still needed to shower and get changed for dinner.

Once all of the plants were watered Naruto started the shower in his bathroom and quickly stripped off his clothes and entered his shower. If someone were to see the inside of Naruto's bathroom they would find it filled with two things, Orange and Toads. His towels were orange, black or both with swirls or had giant toads on them and his tooth brush had a toad for a handle while his soap dish was a small toad as well. There was a picture of an orange toad on the mat in his bathroom with a peace sign and even a strange bottle shaped like a toad that was toad shampoo. Not even Jiraiya knew where the boy found the shampoo.

After quickly showering and changing into another pair of black cargo pants and an orange shirt he started to sort through the things he had brought back. Once the threat of Gato was gone Naruto and Hinata had had a chance to visit the local market and buy a few souvenirs. They had also taken advantage of some of the local restaurants together, sometimes including Anko, Kakashi, or Shino. Naruto had nothing really big, but he did bring back several scrolls on the history of the land of waves and some interesting taijutsu styles which he promptly put on his bookshelf.

As Naruto continued to put his things away and toss his dirty laundry in the direction of the clothes hamper to do later. He realized that it was almost time for him to meet back up with Hinata. He pulled on his sandles and headed out the door.

Naruto arrived at the house around 5:30, shortly before Kurenai who came walking into her house not ten minutes after Naruto arrived to find Naruto and Hinata sitting at the kitchen table laughing about something.

Kurenai smiled at the two of them who waved at her with big smiles on their faces, "Welcome Home you two! Congratulations on completing your first B-Rank mission! I'm glad to see your both home safely. I want to hear everything about your mission but I believe Anko, Kakashi, and Iruka are planning on coming by so let's wait until they get here so we can go through it with everyone k?"

"Hey Kurenai, is Sagie in town still? I wanted to talk to him about something," Naruto asked.

"I think he said he would be out of town on a mission but he wanted me to tell you he would be back for the chunin exams coming up soon. Is everything ok?" Kurenai asked the boy.

"Oh, Yeah, I just had a question about something that happened on the mission and I thought he could help me figure it out," Naruto said avoiding answering the question.

Kurenai gave him a look that clearly said she knew he was hiding something but decided not to pry any deeper.

"Hinata, could you start dinner please, I'm going to grab a quick shower before the others arrive."  
"Sure Kurenai, I'll be happy too!" Hinata said with a smile on her face.

"Alrighty, be good you two!" Kurenai said with a small laugh.

Naruto and Hinata blushed deeply and nodded as Kurenai smiled and laughed again leaving the two to take a shower while Hinata started the oven and began to cook. Hinata loved to cook, she found it was something she was truly and genuinely good at and was something that always made people happy so she loved it. Many found Hinata's ability to cook went far beyond simply being good, she was a natural talent with an oven and her friends often found excuses to stop by whenever they knew she was the one cooking that night.

Naruto offered his help but Hinata just raised an eyebrow and told him he could set the table in the dining room. They had learned the hard way never to let Naruto 'help' with cooking since it usually ended with a small fire or explosion.

Naruto nodded with a grin and got the plates out and was setting the table when Anko and Iruka arrived. They waved and Iruka went to help Hinata in the kitchen and drop off the desert he had made for the dinner while Anko helped Naruto finish setting the table.

Iruka returned shortly after they had finished and said Hinata had everything well under control.

"So what's going to happen with Haku Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked the man.

"He was assigned quarters and is going to be spending at least a year at the academy and be given the genin test. He has a year of probation but it's as bad as it could be. I think the academy will be good for him since he will have a chance to make friends, even if they are younger than him," Iruka told them.

Anko raised an eyebrow at this, "He's 14 or 15 isn't he? He should be placed on a genin team, hell, I know chunin who aren't as strong as that boy," she said in a matter of fact tone.

"True, but he needs some time to recover from what's happened to him and he needs a chance to form some bonds with the village, even though he probably already knows everything the academy can teach him it will be good for him, besides I made sure he'll be with a good teacher and I'm going to work with him in private to help," Iruka told her and Anko nodded.

Anko let a soft smile play across her lips at her boyfriend's comments about Haku. One of the reasons Anko had fallen for the man was because of his devotion to his students. Her own sensei had run off and taken her with him under the guise of a long-term mission. He had lied to her and betrayed her and even after returning to the village she had found herself unable to trust people which, combined with her reputation as the crazy snake lady, made it almost impossible to date. But Iruka truly wanted to help his students and genuinely cared for them deeply and she couldn't help but fall for the man once she knew that, his dango making skills were just an added bonus. It was something in her heart that she had always wanted and she couldn't help but see the goodness in a man like that.

It also made sense what the Hokage had planned, as Haku was new to the village and had been through what many would consider a rather traumatic experience of watching his father killed in front of him he needed some time to recover and a safe place to form bonds with the village. The academy would provide both for a short time before allowing him to join a genin team.

Kurenai returned from her shower and joined the group after that and sat down on the couch next to Anko with a smile.

"So I heard you claimed Iruka today at the gate Anko, Congratulations!" Kurenai said.

Iruka blushed slightly and wasn't sure he liked how the women kept referring to him as being 'claimed' by Anko like an object. But considering the circumstances and since he had a strong survival instinct he decided it was best not to argue with it. He truly enjoyed being with Anko and what did it matter how the relationship moved forward as long as it did? Well, as long as it did without him getting injured which was entirely possible when involving Anko.

Naruto rolled his eyes and got up and went to the kitchen to help Hinata finish up as he was decent with getting plates and dishes for the food and carrying them to the dining room so long as he was supervised.

Kakashi arrived nearly 45 minutes after Kurenai had arrived, he decided to only be slightly late this time since he wasn't sure how long Anko would wait before sending Buttons after him.

The meal went by slowly as Kurenai and Iruka listened to Naruto and Anko's illustration of their mission. Kurenai giggled as the two went on and on with how great the battle had been with Zabuza and how they had managed to completely overcome the odds bringing to bring themselves a great victory for the history books.

"And Zabuza was at least seven feet tall and had the power to rival the Hokage but we never stopped for one moment to consider the odds!" Naruto said.

"You bet! The massive sword of his was at least 10 feet long and his eyes burned like a demon!" Anko added

The two continued their embellished story for some time to the amusement of the others at the table as Hinata and Kakashi raised eyebrows and tried to keep themselves from outright laughing at them.

Finally Kurenai couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing at them, it took her a few minutes before looking at Kakashi and Hinata and asking, "So, how embellished is this little story of theirs?"

"Oh, I'd say at least 70% of it was utter bullshit," Kakashi said.

"I would say 80% personally," Hinata giggled.

"About the only part of their story which was correct was the names, Zabuza's sword was not nearly as big as Anko says nor was he 7 feet tall and Anko's snake was only 40 feet, but it did eat Gato which was rather amusing," Kakashi told them.

Naruto and Anko both grinned as Kakashi retold their story with less embellishment.

The group was sitting there happily as Kakashi finished and Kurenai smiled and got up and walked to her room saying, "Hold on one second, I have a big surprise for Hinata and I'd like you all to hear the news."

Kurenai returned with a folder in hand and handed it to Hinata while kneeling next to the girl and placing a hand on her shoulder she looked her in the eyes. Her face was serious and her red eyes peered in the lavender ones before her. She smiled at the girl and motioned for her to open the folder before speaking.

"When the hokage asked me to take you in it was supposed to be a temporary arrangement he said but ever since you came to stay with me my house has felt more like a home and I feel like I have a real family. So last year I requested guardianship of you Hinata and last week they granted my request. If you'd like, I'll officially be your parent and guardian," Kurenai told her as Hinata gasped at the news and starred from the folder to Kurenai.

Up until that point Hinata had been considered a ward of Konoha and been living with Kurenai as her ward with the village as her technical legal guardian but this would be a huge change from that. Kurenai had officially offered to take the girl in as a surrogate mother and become her parent in all forms, not just a babysitter. She couldn't believe that Kurenai had done that, she had never expected anyone to offer such a gift to her.

"O-Of course Kurenai, I'd love that, Thank you so much!" Hinata burst out of her seat and hugged Kurenai tightly who returned the hug with a large amount of gratitude. Both women had a massive amount of emotion wrapped up inside them. Hinata had never felt so much gratitude in her life or so much love from someone since her mother had passed away and tears of joy came to her eyes as she realized this place was not just a temporary house but a true home for her now. Part of the uncertainty and loneliness which had plagued Hinata for years was finally put to rest as she officially had a family again, something the young girl had secretly wanted very much.

Kurenai had been truly worried Hinata would be upset that Kurenai had done this without Hinata's consent or that she wouldn't want to accept her as her guardian. She was so thankful for the acceptance that Hinata showed. Over the past few years since Hinata had come into her life she felt more and more like a mother figure to the girl and even when the hokage had offered to get the girl her own place in town Kurenai had requested she remain. Kurenai and Hinata hugged one another tightly as everyone beamed at the news.

"Congratulations Hinata! That's so awesome!" Naruto said as he smiled at her and placing a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezing it. Hinata looked at Naruto and smiled, the tears still coming down her eyes as she saw how genuinely happy the boy was for her.

Everyone offered their congratulations and Iruka slipped out of the room and brought back a large box which had a huge chocolate cake with "CONGRATULATIONS!" written in purple icing and several large flowers in white, red, and blue all over the cake.

As it got late into the evening Anko, Iruka, and Naruto took their leave as Hinata headed for her room for bed. Kakashi had given his team the next day off after the mission so they wouldn't have any training or missions and both Naruto and Hinata planned to sleep in before getting together in the afternoon. Kurenai was finishing up the dishes which Kakashi had surprisingly offered to help with.

They were pretty quiet as they cleaned up the room. Everyone had offered to help but Kakashi had said he'd stay and do it since he was late arriving and Kurenai wasn't going to let Kakashi work alone so they found themselves together cleaning up.

Finally Kakashi broke the quiet, "That was really nice what you did for Hinata," he told her.

Kurenai smiled, "She deserves it and I like having her here and really don't want her to leave, she's kind and sweet and very caring of people. I really think of her more as the daughter I always hope to have. I wish her father could have seen those qualities for the strength they are. Kindness should never be considered a weakness."

Kakashi nodded to her, "I agree and I've seen Hinata fight, she's very good and her modified Juken style is impressive. I am surprised Hiashi was so foolish, but then I guess anger blinds us sometimes."

Kurenai looked at the man who wore a mask at all times and nodded to him, he seemed to speak from personal experience and she wondered what had happened in his life to believe such a thing.

"You would have done the same for Naruto I am sure," she told him, although she wasn't entirely certain how true that was.

As if knowing her doubts Kakashi shook his head, "I had that chance once before and many times during his life to become involved and I didn't. I regret that and when I look back on it I wish I had been more involved in his life. Maybe I could have helped him train like master Jiraiya has or given him someone else to talk too. I've often wondered if what I did was the right thing by keeping myself apart even though I often watched him to make sure he was safe.

"I guess it would be too little too late to second guess myself now but I was glad you and Iruka and Anko were in his life when I wasn't. He needed someone and when I look back on my reasoning it doesn't seem as flawless as it did then. Thank you for being there for him and what you gave Hinata tonight was an incredible gift, don't sell yourself short yourself of it."

Kurenai stopped for a moment at the man's words. The Kakashi she had always known was calm, collected, lazy, and never second guessed himself. But the man before her had just revealed he was someone with doubts and concerns and who truly hoped he had done the right thing. It made her realize there was more behind the mask than what most of the girls thought. Kurenai had been given a brief insight into the copy ninja and she was shocked at how deep the man truly was.

The silence again began to drag on as Kakashi asked, "So, I didn't see Asuma here tonight, any particular reason? If you don't mind me asking?"

Kurenai had expected the question sooner or later, she and Asume had gone out a few times and most people knew they were good friends. It made sense that he would have been there tonight but he hadn't been.

Kurenai sighed, "Asuma didn't agree with me adopting Hinata. He thought she was old enough to be on her own and I was coddling her too much and needed to give her some space to grow. I told him I thought he was completely wrong and that he didn't understand what the girl had been through and told him as long as he felt that way he and I were done."

Kurenai spoke with steady conviction in her voice. She remembered the conversation well when she had told Asuma of her intention and how she was waiting for the adoption process to be completed. It had been a rather complicated procedure, which had surprised the woman. They had to run a background check on her, studied her with Hinata, checked her home, and even watched her with her team and interviewed several close friends.

Kakashi listened and nodded, he was surprised to hear that Kurenai had dumped Asuma because of that. He thought the two were doing well in their relationship, although privately he was a tad bit happier to hear the news than he would admit. He was also impressed by Kurenai's conviction to adopt and take care of Hinata. He understood that feeling since many times he had wondered what it would have been like if he had taken Naruto in instead of Jiraiya. Her words really made him look at the genjutsu mistress in a different light.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kakashi told her simply.

"He wasn't mean or angry, he simply disagreed with my choice and couldn't understand why I'm so protective of the girl. I tried to explain what Hinata had been through with her family and her father. I thought he'd understand since he and his own father had some major issues but he simply thought I was being too naive and that Hinata needed to stand on her own two feet and she wouldn't be able to do that if I was always there.

"I don't disagree with him, Hinata will have to stand on her own at some point but that doesn't mean she can't have a protective and loving home life either to help. I want her to know she is safe here and that she won't ever be alone. I'll never forget the day she came running here and away from her father. I've never seen someone so terrified in my life, I am not sure she's entirely over the mental scarring of it either," Kurenai told him as her hand clenched into a fist and anger bubbled over at the thought of what Hiashi had done to his daughter and all of the mental abuse he committed on her.

"Everyone deserves a family who loves and cares for them, I am glad she found one with you all," Kakashi told her as he thought back to his own childhood and the loss of his own father and family early in his life. He knew what it was like to have a troubled childhood and how hard it could be to move past it.

"You should include yourself in that list Kakashi, since you're now her sensei after all," Kurenai told him as a smile came to her to lips and Kakashi smiled back under his mask.

The two continued their conversation late into the night as they finished cleaning going much slower than they needed too. They didn't discuss anything of great importance but simply enjoyed a conversation with the other person and it was almost regretfully for them when Kakashi finally took his leave.

The next day Naruto woke later than usual, as Kakashi had given his team the day off. He stretched himself and yawned before getting out of bed and taking a quick shower. As he pulled on his usual black pants and orange shirt and jacket and set out into the village he made a mental list of things he needed to get. He knew he had to make preparations for his picnic with Hinata that evening.

Naruto proceeded through the market where he found he received many strange looks and fewer glares than normal. Word had spread about his team taking down Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist, and many looked at the boy with renewed interest and less fear. Over the years the village had begun to accept the boy and look at him differently. The story of how he had come riding in on a giant toad to save Hinata was still told, although greatly embellished and seen more as a love story than simply friendship, and much of the female population had their heart warmed to the boy thanks to it.

As he began to take more and more missions and help the village people had more reason to talk to him and get to know him better. As they got to know him they saw that many of the rumors they had previously heard before were unfounded. The child was rather nice, if not extremely energetic but he had a good heart and was always willing to lend a hand and help. This led to many people questioning the old rumors and challenging those who disliked the boy for no apparent reason.

As Naruto collected the items he wanted for the picnic he noticed the different stares and that there were more smiles in his direction than the last time he had checked. He smiled back and waved as he went from store to store for his purchases.

Hinata had woken up to the sound of Kurenai's cooking and the smell of food. She rose only to realize that it was close to 6 in the morning and groaned. She had forgotten that while her team had the day off Kurenai's still had missions for the day.

_If I want a hot breakfast I better get up_, Hinata thought to herself with a sigh and crawled out of her warm bed.

As she wandered into the living room and flopped herself down on the couch Kurenai's smiling face appeared from the kitchen and laughed at her.

"Morning sunshine, how did you sleep?" She asked.

"Great until some morning person had to wake me up," Hinata responded after sticking her tongue out at Kurenai.

"Well it can't be helped, after all, early the bed, early to rise and all that right?" her guardian responded with a laugh.

"You're one to talk since you didn't go to bed until well after me, so what were you and Kakashi-sensei talking about huh?" Hinata asked teasing her guardian who blushed and ducked back into the kitchen only to reemerge with two well laden plates of eggs, rice, and bacon.

Hinata rose and took the plates while Kurenai went back and got some drinks for the two of them.

"How is your team going? Or can you still not talk about them with me?" Hinata asked around a mouthful of eggs and rice.

Kurenai finished her mouthful before responding, "I probably shouldn't, and it wouldn't be very fair to them. But I will say things are going well, still a bit rocky with the Uchiha kid but he's coming around I think. But my god, I'm going to be late! I'll see you later tonight after your date with Naruto, be good!" Kurenai said as stood up and gave Hinata a quick hug before rushing out the door.

"I wish Kakashi-sensei were so concerned with showing up on time," Hinata grumbled as she considered returning to her warm bed but decided against it and instead rose to clean up the breakfast mess which they had left before going to work in their garden.

I was later that afternoon when Naruto arrived to pick up Hinata. He handed her a small bouquet of lavender and purple flowers he had gotten and she blushed and smiled at the flowers. She wore a purple skirt which flowed out to her knees and a matching soft purple shirt covered by a light jacket. Her hair was braided and fell down to her mid-back. Naruto was wearing his usual black pants and a black colored shirt with a light jacket as well. Naruto hugged her and after taking her hand the two left for the evening.

Hinata had expected him to head toward the park and was surprised when he took a different route. When she raised an eyebrow he simply told her that he had a special place for their picnic that night and pulled her along in a rush of excitement.

As they got closer Naruto guided her up the side of a large staircase and she soon found herself on top of the Hokage Mountain, specifically on top of the head of the Fourth Hokage. He smiled and hugged her showing her the blanket and small basket already prepared for them.

"I used to come up here a lot when Sagie would leave me here and people would be mean to me to me to think. I guess I always felt comforted up here and now that I know about my dad it makes more sense. I wanted to share that with you because you make me feel so happy when we're together. It's not much but, you know, it's like my special spot," Naruto said as he blushed.

Hinata marveled at the view before her. As evening approached the clouds had a brilliant golden light to them with a highlighted red sunset behind. She could see the entire village and the forest beyond from where she stood. Everything was so perfect here, so peaceful and serene. She then looked at Naruto knowing this was a special place to him, somewhere he had often sought comfort when things had been bad in the past and she felt her heart warm inside her chest and she smiled softly to him before hugging him and burying her head into his chest.

And there before the sunset on top of the hokage mountain she looked up at Naruto and into his eyes and he leaned his head down and their lips met and in that single moment there was nothing else in the entire world to the two teenagers. Naruto felt the soft lips of the girl in his arms meet his own and the electricity which passed between them. He had never known a feeling of peace or a perfect moment before but for him this was it. Naruto and Hinata would never forget that moment for the rest of their lives as they shared their first kiss together. The sunlight shown down on them highlighting the moment for them as if proclaiming it for the world to see and as their lips broke apart they held one another in silence enjoying the feeling of being complete and totally at happy.

Finally Naruto's stomach growled breaking the moment and he blushed momentarily before helping Hinata take a seat and proceeded to take out the dishes he had had prepared. There was sushi, ramen, rice, and cinnamon rolls for desert. Also included were several candles which Naruto set out and lit before returning to his seat beside Hinata. She leaned her head on his shoulder as she ate some sushi and he enjoyed several bowls of ramen.

Several times he picked up pieces of sushi with his chopsticks and fed her the sushi himself which would make her giggle. She responded by breaking apart one of the cinnamon rolls and giving him half. Naruto had learned years before that cinnamon rolls were her favorite food in the world and she jealously guarded them.

"So I guess this means we're boyfriend and girlfriend right?" Naruto asked a bit nervously as they finished the meal and darkness began to fall.

"I would think so," Hinata agreed with a giggle and her placed his arms around her and pulled her close giving her another warm kiss as they watched the sunset complete its course and evening turned to night fall.

As the stars came out Naruto and Hinata remained and watched them stars. They didn't say anything, truly words didn't need to be said between the two of them, and they merely wanted to stay in that moment for as long as they possibly could together. As they held each other that night they realized that they were truly lucky to have found one another and they began to understand what love truly was.

Author's Note: For those wondering about the Asuma/Kurenai thing I wanted to say I never intended to have them together, Surprise! And I know Naruto and Hinata had been going for like 4 months now and they are just having their first kiss but I wanted to take things slow with them considering their ages but things will pick up now that they are 13 and almost 14 in the relationship. I have some very interesting things planned in the Chunin exams. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


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